MOST MATHS TEACHERS 'NOT EXPERTS'

6/4/2008 6:39:00 AM

BBC 3 June

One in four maths teachers has no relevant qualificationLess than half of maths teachers in England's secondary schools have a degree in the subject, despite a massive recruitment campaign. The government-commissioned study also found fewer maths lessons were being taught by specialists. A multi-million pound TV, newspaper and cinema advertising campaign to boost the number of specialist maths teachers has been run over the past few years. Ministers said the lack of maths graduates was not unique to teaching. The survey of 327 secondary schools in England found that generally teachers had a degree in the subjects they taught. This tended to be more likely in the sciences, with 90% of these teachers having what was categorised as a relevant post A-level qualification. In biology, for example, 85% of those teaching the subject had a relevant degree, as did 83% of those teaching chemistry and 72% of those teaching physics. But the figures showed that only 47% of those teaching maths had a relevant degree, although 75% had a post A-level qualification of some sort. BBC

Curriculum / Quality Assurance

'SCHOOLS SHOULD TEACH SKILLS NOT SUBJECTS'

6/4/2008 7:06:00 AM

Daily Telegraph 4 June

Traditional school timetables broken down by subject should be scrapped because they favour middle-class pupils, a former government adviser says. The national curriculum should be more focused on the teaching of skills such as team building, public speaking and problem solving, rather than "an encyclopaedic knowledge" of the world, he believes. Prof John White, from the Institute of Education, part of London University, says subject-based lessons discriminate against pupils from poor homes who struggle to adjust to a "highly academic school culture". He also says control of the curriculum should be taken out of the Government's hands and run by an independent body to ensure lessons are not too politicised.DT

Lead Story | Curriculum / Quality Assurance

IMPERIAL MAY SET OWN ENTRY TEST

6/4/2008 6:41:00 AM

BBC 3 June

Sir Richard also urged public funding for private schoolingOne of the UK's most prestigious higher education institutions may use its own entrance exam to differentiate between well-qualified degree applicants. Imperial College London is trying out an entrance test for subjects other than medicine, which has one already. Rector Sir Richard Sykes told an independent schools conference that all applicants had "four or five A-levels". He said it was "frightening" that 40% of his undergraduate intake came from the 7% who were privately schooled. Imperial specialises in engineering, medicine, and the natural sciences and was ranked fifth in a recent global league table. Speaking at the Independent Schools Council's annual conference in London, Sir Richard said "grade inflation" had "destroyed" the role of A-levels in selecting undergraduates. "Top institutions have great difficulty separating out the best students," he said. "Even if you interview all the students you still have a problem." Hence the trailing of an entrance test which would assess general intelligence and creativity, which could become the norm at Imperial from 2010 - and perhaps elsewhere. "That hopefully would become a national system if that was seen to be successful for selecting students," Sir Richard said. BBC

FE/HE/ Skills

OXFORD TURNS TO US FOR VICE-CHANCELLOR

6/4/2008 6:57:00 AM

FT 4 June

Oxford University has crossed the Atlantic to find its next vice-chancellor, choosing Yale number two Andrew Hamilton, in a move that illustrates the increasing globalisation of the market for academic leaders. The heads of the nation’s top institutions are ever more likely to be plucked from universities outside the country or from international business. Oxford’s selection of Prof Hamilton, Yale provost, confirms this trend. Mr Hamilton was born in England but is a long-term US resident, with dual British and US citizenship. What are commonly thought of as Britain’s top four universities each has a head recruited either from overseas or from the commercial world – or both. Oxford’s current vice-chancellor is John Hood, the New Zealand ex-businessman; Cambridge has Alison Richard, a Briton who like Mr Hamilton is also a former Yale provost; the head of Imperial College London is Sir Richard Sykes, former chairman of international drugs company GlaxoSmithKline; and University College London has Malcolm Grant, who enjoys dual New Zealand and British nationality. FT

FE/HE/ Skills

PRIVATE SCHOOLS PLAN KITE-MARK QUALITY SCHEME

6/4/2008 7:27:00 AM

The Guardian 4 June

Private schools are to launch a kite-marking scheme to stop "rogue trader" schools around the world capitalising on the reputation of a British education. Chris Parry, the chief executive of the Independent Schools Council (ISC), told the organisation's annual conference in London that the scheme would "maintain standards" in schools around the world. Parry was speaking after making controversial comments in an interview with the Guardian last week referring to unteachable children and ignorant parents in the state sector. He said state school pupils could not be expected to get into top universities if they were bullied by classmates from "disadvantaged backgrounds". In a notably low-key speech yesterday, he warned that the independent sector was facing challenges including the economic downturn, a demographic fall in the number of pupils over the next decade and innovations in teaching technology. He told journalists that there were a lot of "rogue traders", who were "operating in the wider world calling themselves British schools which I think this country probably wouldn't want to put their name to. We have to establish what the benchmark is and that's got to be a very high standard if people are going to market it as a British school."Guardian

Independent/ Private Sector

WARNING ON GLOBALISATION'S THREAT TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS

6/4/2008 6:56:00 AM

FT 4 June

Britain's private schools are threatened by globalisation because "it is fundamentally hostile economically to the traditional middle classes", the new chief executive of the Independent Schools Council told assembled heads yesterday.Chris Parry's comments underline the turmoil facing private schools, hit by the rapid reordering of the bourgeoisie from whom they have historically drawn the bulk of their clients.Many wealthy people have become even wealthier through globalisation. But other members of the middle-class, whose incomes have not risen at the same rapid pace as private schools' fees, have struggled to keep up.Charges at England's best private schools have risen by as much as 60 per cent in only five years, research by the Good Schools Guide for the Financial Times recently revealed.Mr Parry was speaking at the ISC's annual conference in the City of London. Talking to reporters later, he rejected the idea that private school pupils came primarily from society's top economic echelons, which have in most cases benefited from globalisation. Mr Parry said: "I know personally of a large number of people who struggle to pay their fees."FT

Independent/ Private Sector

PRIVATE SCHOOL CHARITY RULE FEARS

6/4/2008 6:40:00 AM

BBC 3 June

Independent schools still face an anxious wait over charitable status, as the head of the Charity Commission considers rules on "public benefit". Andrew Hind told an Independent Schools Council conference that he did not expect that all schools would succeed in keeping their charitable status. He highlighted the need for independent schools to consider "those in poverty and those unable to pay fees". Guidelines should be finalised by the end of the year, said Mr Hind. Independent school leaders gathered in London are still waiting to find what will be expected of them to retain their charitable status and the associated tax breaks. "Much of the anxiety is caused by the lack of definition," said the ISC's chief executive, Chris Parry. School representatives heard questions over what exactly would be required - for example, would there be an expectation of more bursaries for poorer students or would it be sufficient to open facilities to the wider community. BBC

Independent/ Private Sector

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MOST MATHS TEACHERS 'NOT EXPERTS'

'SCHOOLS SHOULD TEACH SKILLS NOT SUBJECTS'

IMPERIAL MAY SET OWN ENTRY TEST

OXFORD TURNS TO US FOR VICE-CHANCELLOR

PRIVATE SCHOOLS PLAN KITE-MARK QUALITY SCHEME

WARNING ON GLOBALISATION'S THREAT TO PRIVATE SCHOOLS

PRIVATE SCHOOL CHARITY RULE FEARS

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