Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Featured: Mohammed scoops the top prize

Following a day watching an international fixture and interviewing the stars of the England rugby side, 13-year-old Mohammed Haris won the CBRE Young Rugby Reporter of the Year award. The aspiring journalist from Abraham Moss Community School in Manchester competed against three other finalists at the RBS Six Nations England V Ireland match at Twickenham. […]

Specialist centre opens in May

Early Excellence plans to open a specialist early years centre in London in May. The provider of early years’ pedagogy, provision and practice says the centre will offer high-level professional development and consultancy through workshops, training and high-profile speaker events. Founder and director Liz Marsden (pictured), says: “Opening a centre in London will allow us […]

Who needs goalposts?

Schoolchildren used their jumpers for goalposts to mark an inaugural National Playground Football Day last week. Organised by League Cup sponsor Capital One, the day celebrates the “long-standing British tradition” of playground football. Internationals Nathaniel Clyne and Fran Kirby showed their support with a lunchtime kickabout with pupils from St Mary’s West Derby Church of […]

Two decades of raising the roof

Young Voices, which stages the largest children’s choir concerts in the world, has completed a marathon of 20 arena dates up and down the country with more than 130,000 school children to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The group, which gives primary pupils the chance to perform all styles of music including folk, pop, rock and […]

Nick Hall, Mei Lim and Graeme Smith

Nick Hall, the East Midlands regional director at Teach First, next month takes over as leader of excellence in teaching at The Education Fellowship where he plans to develop, implement and evaluate teaching and learning initiatives and strategies throughout the fellowship’s 12 academies. “I will be looking to put some meat on to the bones […]

Closing down: 14th studio school to fold, leaving just 33 open

Another studio school is to shut, the 14th of the 47 schools to close and raising questions over the model’s future. The Shared Learning Trust, formerly known as Barnfield Academy Trust, last week said it was closing its studio school in Luton after “carefully weighing up its long-term viability” in the face of dwindling pupil […]

‘I’m no puppet’ insists new national schools commissioner Sir David Carter

England’s new schools commissioner Sir David Carter has insisted he is not Nicky Morgan’s puppet and that he has the full support of government for his plans to improve schools. Speaking exclusively to Schools Week at the Association of School and College Leaders annual conference in Birmingham last week, the former regional schools commissioner (RSC) […]

Delayed exam specifications hold up new textbooks

The late accreditation of new exam specifications could delay subject textbooks being ready for September. Figures released last week showed final specifications for more than half of the new GCSEs and A-levels have not yet been accredited. Qualifications watchdog Ofqual and exam boards have come under fire for the delay, which is leaving teachers “no […]

High-needs funding formula will be phased in over 5 years

Proposals have gone out for consultation on high-needs funding for pupils with special educational needs, which will continue to be allocated to local authorities. The proposals are separate to the consultation on national fair funding. The consultation document states that councils will continue to decide the pattern of provision for their area, consistent with their […]