Nicky Phillips | Schools Week

Schools ‘manipulate’ predicted grades, leading head claims

The head of Watford Grammar School for Girls said she would let girls “choose” their predicted A-level grades if other schools were “manipulating results”, official minutes show – raising questions about the role of teacher predictions in university entrance. But head of the school, Dame Helen Hyde, then told Schools Week she “would not allow […]

Cancelled Building Schools for the Future linked to worse GCSE results

Pupil performance fell at schools where the coalition government cancelled new school buildings, new research has shown. But it was the fall in morale that seems to have caused the spiral rather than the scrapped buildings. Analysis of data on the number of pupils achieving five A* to C GCSEs at almost half of the […]

Here’s how to make the pupil premium work

We shouldn’t judge disadvantaged pupils purely by the academic achievements of students in the best schools, but if used well, the premium is the way to lift barriers to learning According to the Fabian Society, the number of children in poverty will increase from 2.5 million today to 4.4 million by Christmas 2030. Whether that […]

‘Dog’s breakfast’ of primary assessment is increasing teacher workload

Constant changes by the government to assessment arrangements for this year’s end-of-primary key stage tests are a “dog’s breakfast” and add to workload, teachers say, despite promises by the education secretary to reduce red tape. Since January 5, the Department for Education (DfE) has updated the Assessment and Reporting Arrangements (ARA) section on its website […]

Primary schools ‘disapply’ up to third of pupils from their official statistics

Schools are having up to a third of their pupils’ key stage 2 (KS2) results removed from the published league tables, Schools Week has found. Analysis of the KS2 results, published last month, compared the number of pupils at a school eligible to sit the tests with those whose results were included in the performance […]

EXCLUSIVE: Ark’s new ‘Assembly’ service seeks to help edu-tech start ups

Successful academy chain Ark is launching a new cloud-based service today to break open the market for start-up education technology companies, Schools Week can exclusively reveal. The Assembly service will store data from school management information systems (MIS), which companies can then apply to use for the creation of apps with “school improvement at their […]

EXCLUSIVE: Cambridge university secret briefing over new admissions tests

The University of Cambridge held a secret briefing for selected teachers this week over its plans to bring back entrance tests for many subjects, but will not publicise details of its decision until March. Schools Week has learned that university officials met the group of hand-picked teachers in London on Tuesday. A source said they […]

1,234 or 1 234? Primary pupils must interpret commas in new maths tests

The humble comma, often misused in written language, will make its mark in maths tests this year, causing potential problems for thousands of children. In an email to schools last week, the Standards and Testing Agency announced that from May, all children sitting their key stage 2 (KS2) tests in May will be expected to understand […]

Alternative GCSE League Tables 2016: Which schools do best for the poorest pupils?

League tables for schools and colleges were released today by the Department for Education. Schools Week brings back its award-winning analysis, showcasing schools with high numbers of children from low income families. Disadvantaged pupils are once again at the heart of Schools Week’s analysis of the GCSE results pupils received in 2015 – with a […]