Schools

Trevor Fisher: More than ever, GCSE choices determine your life chances

Thursday, 17 September 2009

Is university entrance now the real National Lottery? Unlike the event taking place each Saturday night, university entrance is less and less a transparent process governed by clear and logical rules. It is not widely understood that decisions students take in school can close doors to universities several years down the line.

UK's premier pop music college sets up shop in Oklahoma to show the USA how to get students into jobs

Thursday, 17 September 2009

Its name has long had musical associations, but the state of Oklahoma is better known for its cowboys than its boy bands. Not for much longer. Unlikely as it may seem, Oklahoma City is the newest outpost of the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) – a largely unsung British educational success story that, since 1995, has been quietly training up and securing deals for the next generation of pop stars and impresarios.

Education Quandary: Our children, aged 11 and 15, don't go to sleep until late and seem unfit for school in the morning

Thursday, 17 September 2009

John White: 'We are facing the revival of the traditional Tory policy'

Thursday, 10 September 2009

Conservative pronouncements on the school curriculum appear somewhat contradictory. A report from the centre-right think-tank the Centre for Policy Studies advocates the abolition of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, so that schools develop their own curricula. It says that quangos are not ideologically neutral and tend to assume the prejudices of the political classes of the time. Freeing up the schools will remove them from the grip of political ideology.

Making waves: How physics is being transformed

Thursday, 10 September 2009

The ultimate nerdy subject is being given a makeover. Hilary Wilce takes a look at how science lessons are being made interesting

Education Quandary: My son's independent school doesn't post his reports home until the beginning of the holidays. Should we complain?

Thursday, 10 September 2009

Why schools love the International Baccalaureate

Thursday, 10 September 2009

The International Baccalaureate is highly prized by university admissions officers and gives students skills they can use all their lives

Charterhouse set open a sixth-form day house

Thursday, 10 September 2009

The grass is dry on the grounds of Charterhouse, the air sweet with the smell of lavender. The old stone scholars' court is silent; school has closed for the summer. In the distance, a cricket match is being played on the rolling fields of Surrey. Things are as they have been for nearly 400 years.

Christopher Ray: Charity Commission is suffering from selective perception

Thursday, 10 September 2009

In a looking-glass world, all is not what it may seem. What people say and what they mean can be gloriously at odds. Even so, close scrutiny can expose hidden truths. The recent judgements of the Charity Commission on the charitable status of five independent schools, including The Manchester Grammar School, have revealed two such truths – one essentially self-evident, the other less so.

Hogwarts in East Africa: Why Kenya's prep schools are thriving

Thursday, 10 September 2009

It's another gloriously sunny day, and dozens of young children at St Andrew's Preparatory School are setting off on their weekly run. Led by their fleet-footed teachers, the pack races several kilometres around the school's 300-acre plot before returning for prep and early supper.