Fewer than half of state school teachers encourage Oxbridge applications

Just 44% of secondary school teachers say they encourage gifted students to consider Oxford or Cambridge, study finds Fewer than half of state school teachers would advise bright pupils to apply to the UK’s top universities, and the numbers are falling, research suggests. The Sutton Trust, which commissioned the study, said it was deeply concerning [...]

Half of free schools still negotiating sites for autumn opening, minister says

Labour attacks gamble with education as supporters urge rethink of way ‘hundreds coming forward’ will find premises Half of the free schools opening this autumn are still negotiating over premises, an education minister has admitted. Despite many having made provisional offers of places for September, only about 35 of the 70 schools have written confirmation [...]

Company offers same quality education as top public schools for half the price

Dubai-based firm plans to make high-class private schooling affordable for ‘huge swaths’ of the British middle classes A for-profit company is setting up private schools that claim to offer the same quality education as top public schools but for half the price. GEMS Education, based in Dubai, intends to open six fee-paying day schools for [...]

Teachers’ strike forces more than half of England’s state schools to close

Department for Education says 58% of state schools closed and further 13% partly closed as teachers strike over pensions Some 58% of state schools in England are thought to be closed as hundreds of thousands of teachers joined a mass strike over reforms to their pensions. The Department for Education said a further 13% of [...]