Summary of Education News May 2008

Parental choice …

Amidst reports suggesting that almost one in four families could miss out on their choice of primary school this year because of a 'surge in applications', MPs have debated the Education and Skills Bill, and pledged that the fight for school places will be a 'level playing field' under new admissions rules.

Primary schools also appear likely to be the first sector in Scotland to have places allocated by a controversial lottery system, in order to meet class reduction targets.

The Credit crunch, which has finally started to hit the ousing market, also makes it increasingly unlikely that moving home in order to live within the catchment area for a favoured school is likely to be viable for many people. This will make independent education even more important for many families concerned about the standard of education their children receive.

According to a recent survey children are becoming increasingly reliant on their grandparents for financial aid to pay for their school fees, in view of fees at some independent schools having risen by up to 60% in five years.
Even where grandparental contributions cannot be made, however, it is possible for fees to be managed through careful planning – even if the child is already at school. In fact they can effectively be cut by as much as 50% in some cases. Please click here for details of how much you could save.

Standards in schools …

The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority predicting that only 9% of “A” level students attending state school pupils (but almost 25% at independent schools) will gain at least one top A* grade when they are awarded in 2010. It is therefore a matter of deep concern to parents that a leading school head has suggested that the on-going erosion of the value of grades at GCSE and A-level means achievement at anything other than the highest levels will not help students’ prospects as they move up through the system.

It is, however, helpful to learn that with a study by the Institute for Public Policy Research indicating that poor teaching could make the difference between a pass and a fail for thousands of GCSE pupils, plans are under discussion for incompetent teachers to be removed from their classrooms and retrained at neighbouring schools. According to the General Teaching Council for England it is unacceptable that only 46 teachers have been judged incompetent since 2001.

According to Education Data Surveys, only 2,000 new maths teachers being trained this year (and even fewer planning to sit courses in the next 12 months). So the 1,650 vacant maths teaching posts already advertised for the next academic year are a sign that things will only get worse, before they can improve.
Planning an independent education for your child can be a good way of giving them a better start in life.

Excellence …

Congratulations to a 12-year-old trombone player from Chetham's School of Music, who was crowned BBC Young Musician of the Year 2008. He is the youngest winner in the history of the contest. 

While this is a case of an especially talented young musician, perhaps a better indicator of the excellence of music teaching within the independent sector is the report that a seven-year-old Blue Coats School pupil has recently won a prestigious place at the Royal College of Music. Not to be left out, the sports departments have produced a young female cricketer at George Watson's College who scored a rare hat-trick in a competitive cricket match.

Keep an eye in the rear-view mirror Rachael Heyhoe-Flint (who captained the England Women’s Cricket team from 1966 to 1978)!

And finally … parents banned from helping with sports …

Volunteers who coach children in sport could find themselves relegated to the touchlines because of the new UK Coaching Framework. This aims to make coaching a regulated profession by stipulating that coaches must have qualifications and criminal background checks. According to a survey commissioned by the Cricket Foundation charity, fewer than one-in-10 pupils play cricket in state schools.

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