John Dickens | Schools Week

AS-level exam entries plunge by 42% after government reforms

The number of AS-levels entries has plunged as the effect of the government’s A-level overhaul starts to show. Ofqual has today published the summer 2017 GCSE and A-level entry figures. They show the overall entries for AS subjects fell by 42 per cent, from 1,143,950 in 2016, to 660,200 this year. The Ofqual report stated […]

Removal of iGCSEs from league tables prompts surge in English GCSE entries

The removal of iGCSEs from league tables has boosted the number of entries into English language and literature GCSEs by around 50 per cent, new figures show. Ofqual has today published the summer 2017 GCSE and A-level entry figures. The reveal the number of entries into English language GCSEs rose from 459,750 in 2016, to […]

Angela Rayner stays as shadow education secretary in Labour reshuffle

Angela Rayner will stay on as shadow education secretary, it has been announced this evening. Rayner tweeted that she is “extremely happy” to remain in the role, which she has held since July last year. Her appointment followed mass-resignations of shadow ministers in protest of Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, but despite her early promotion, Rayner has become […]

Ofqual issues exams advice after Grenfell Tower blaze

Exams regulator Ofqual will meet with exam boards to discuss the impact of any exam disruption at schools based close to the Grenfell Tower blaze. It has been reported that several people have died, with more than 50 in hospital, after a huge fire at the 24-storey west London tower block today. Ofqual says it […]

Pupils more alert in afternoon, study finds

A new study has found primary pupils may be more alert in the afternoon, which “contradicts” the practice of schools scheduling maths and literacy lessons in the morning because teachers think youngsters will be “more awake to learning”. BBC Terrific Scientific, a science campaign involving schools, today released the results of an investigation into primary […]

Long read: The inside story of the Trojan Horse trial collapse

One of Michael Gove’s first decisions as education secretary was to abolish the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) in 2010. He was “deeply sceptical” of the body, which was responsible for maintaining a register of teachers and investigating alleged cases of misconduct, claiming that it did “little to raise the teaching standards of professionalism”. […]

Accounts reveal shocking financial mismanagement at defunct academy trust

A new report has exposed how an academy trust under investigation by the government has repeatedly breached finance rules – including paying staff severance cash before re-employing them the next day, and spending public money on “luxury” booze. The overdue annual accounts for the Lilac Sky Schools Academy Trust (LSSAT), published this week, reveal that […]

Tributes paid to superhead Amanda Phillips who died after a fall

Tributes have been paid to the “dedicated” and “formidable” superhead Amanda Phillips who died yesterday. Phillips, chief executive of the Paradigm Trust, died after suffering fatal head injuries from a fall while on holiday in France. David Willis, chair of the trust, said in a statement: “Amanda’s death is a dreadful tragedy. She led Paradigm […]

Trojan Horse: NCTL drops disciplinary case against 5 teachers

Disciplinary proceedings against five teachers caught up in the Trojan Horse scandal in Birmingham have been thrown out after a tribunal ruled there has been a serious abuse of process. A teacher disciplinary panel this morning found that the National College for Teaching and Leadership had not disclosed crucial witness statements taken as part as the […]