Alix Robertson | Schools Week

Reach academy head makes a name for herself

An English teacher who changed her name by deed poll to include the name of her school has lived up to the moniker by becoming the new headteacher. Beck “Reach” Owen took over as head of Reach Academy Feltham in March this year, after legally swapping her middle name – “Lucy” – for the name […]

The chancellor can’t make maths schools add up

Several leading universities have declined the opportunity to open specialist maths schools, and the government won’t admit how many are now due to open, six months after setting aside millions in extra funding. In last November’s budget, the chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured) promised an extra £350,000 a year for every new maths schools – institutions […]

University of Chester Academies Trust warned over £3m deficit

The University of Chester Academies Trust (UCAT) has been told to get its finances in order after racking up a £3 million deficit. The shortfall in the chain’s latest financial forecast breaks the terms of its funding agreement, which insists it returns a balanced budget. This has led to an official financial notice to improve […]

Grammar schools asked to prioritise poorest pupils

The body representing most of the country’s grammar school headteachers will encourage its members to “prioritise” the poorest pupils in their admissions. The Grammar School Heads Association has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department for Education aimed as part of a push to improve access to selective schools for poorer children. The government […]

Thousands of children without EHCPs by government deadline

Almost 4,000 children with now-defunct statements of special educational needs were still waiting to transfer to the new education, health and care plans (EHCPs) system after the April 1 deadline, the government has admitted. Data collected in early April but only released today shows that although 232,352 pupils, 98.4 per cent of those who previously had […]

Ofqual: New biology A-level has improved pupils’ practical skills

Pupils studying the reformed biology A-level have shown better practical skills than whose who took the subject before the government’s recent reforms, a new report from Ofqual shows. However, the skills of pupils studying chemistry and physics stayed broadly the same as before the reforms. The reformed science A-level exams were taken for the first […]

Careers and Enterprise Company will face questions from MPs

The parliamentary education committee will question the leaders of the government’s Careers Enterprise Company next week. Claudia Harris, the organisation’s chief executive, will appear alongside chair Christine Hodgson on Wednesday May 16. They will answer questions about the company’s role in the delivery of the government’s careers strategy and their wider work coordinating careers and enterprise support and guidance. […]

MPs demand action to improve education in the north

An influential group of MPs has written to the education secretary to demand immediate improvement to education in the north of England. The parliamentary education committee wrote to Damian Hinds after a hearing last week with former chancellor George Osborne and other representatives of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership highlighted a “stark educational attainment gap between the […]

One year on: The uneven success of the apprenticeship levy

Schools and academy trusts are not making the most of the millions of pounds they pay into the apprenticeship levy, over a year on from its introduction. Concerns about schools’ understanding of the levy have been raised by a training specialist, who said he was “shocked” by how little was known, while a senior MP […]