Author: Freddie Whittaker

The use of so-called “strings attached” offers by universities shows no sign of abating, but pupils are now less likely to accept them. Despite high-profile interventions from the government, just over a quarter of school leavers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland received a “conditional unconditional” offer this year, up from just 20.9 per cent […]

An outspoken free school head has insisted she doesn’t blame parents who won’t make children give up their smartphones, after warning in a memo to governors that “too many parents do not take GCSEs seriously”. Documents from minutes of the Michaela Community School governing board, obtained by Schools Week, show Katharine Birbalsingh warned earlier this […]

The Conservatives have won a majority after yesterday’s general election, propelling Boris Johnson back into Downing Street with a mandate for his education policies. As of around 5am today, the Tories had won enough seats to govern with a majority, though the full result will not be known until later in the day. Leading education […]

Dr Patrick Roach will be the next general secretary of the NASUWT teaching union. The current deputy general secretary, who was the union executive’s candidate for the role, will succeed his current boss Chris Keates. Paul Nesbitt, Roach’s sole challenger, failed to get enough nominations to stand against him. Schools Week revealed in October that […]

The number of schools used as polling stations has fallen by almost 10 per cent since the last election, but more than one in six will still be disrupted by voters. However, a Schools Week investigation has also found just three councils nationally (less than two per cent) have taken up the government’s promise of […]

Providers of new T-levels have claimed “protectionism” in schools could make it difficult for them to promote the qualifications to teenagers. A report by the National Foundation for Educational Research also found that organisations preparing to deliver the qualifications from next year still believe “significant” work is needed to raise awareness about them, with very […]

A bid to have two elected officials of the NASUWT teaching union removed from office has failed after it was ruled that they were eligible to hold their posts despite not being active teachers. Sarah Havlin, the certification officer for Northern Ireland, has thrown out a complaint from former NASUWT Northern Ireland president Susan Parlour. […]

The number of special consideration request made for GCSE and A-level exams in England fell by 4 per cent this year – the first decrease in at least five years. Special consideration requests are made by schools when pupils who take exams are disadvantaged in some way, or for those who cannot sit an exam […]