Education: Interesting Stories from the BBC

Here is the latest Education News from the BBC.

Cancel primary test results, heads say
Head teachers are calling on the education secretary to stop the publication of this year’s primary school results in England because the results would be unreliable.

University pay dispute could widen
University lecturers are due to start a two-day strike over pay, amid warnings other staff could join the dispute.

When a hoax call disrupts exams
Thousands of pupils across the UK have faced disruption to exams following a spate of hoax calls.

Clumsy teenage boys ‘can blame brain’
Scientists have come up with an explanation for why some teenage boys go through a clumsy phase during a growth spurt.

Famous Five spoof books to be published
A spoof series of four books called Enid Blyton for Grown-Ups, which reimagines the Famous Five as adults, is being published.

Uni’s Mauritius campus is ‘madness’
Aberystwyth University’s Mauritius campus is criticised by its former vice-chancellor after just 40 students enrol in the first two terms.

Pupils return to safety probe schools
Youngsters at three schools in Edinburgh closed over safety fears return to their own classrooms.

Trust to run city’s children’s services
Birmingham’s children’s services will be run by a trust after failings which saw the department named “a national disgrace”.

Emergency education fund for war zones
An emergency fund to provide education during conflicts and natural disasters is launched at the World Humanitarian Summit.

Part-time postgraduate support scrapped
Support for part-time postgraduate study has been scrapped due to a reduced budget this year, the body in charge of funding Welsh universities says.

Action urged on northern England schools
Tackling the attainment gap between rich and poor pupils is the key to improving the performance of schools in northern England, a report says.

‘Cut prosecutions’ for children in care
Children in care should not be prosecuted for minor offences, says a major report.

Uni chief’s £60K rise a ‘disgrace’
An overall pay rise of nearly £60,000 for Falmouth University’s vice-chancellor taking her wage close to £300,000 angers staff.

New boss for failed children’s service
Sunderland’s children’s services department which was rated inadequate recruits a new boss and takes on more frontline staff.

Students risk missing referendum vote
UK university students believe the EU referendum will affect their futures, but almost two-thirds do not know when it is happening, suggests research.

Osborne letter pledging to scrap tuition fees surfaces after 13 years
Osborne letter opposing tuition fees surfaces

Science and languages ‘marginalised’
Sir Michael Wilshaw warns pupils are leaving primary school unprepared for science and languages at secondary level.

Spy service sets school challenge
For the first time France’s foreign spy service, the DGSE, sponsors a code-breaking competition in schools.

Pledge to act over term-time holidays
Nick Gibb reiterates a pledge to take all measures necessary to enforce a ban on term-time holidays after a High Court ruling.

Freed Chibok girl reunited with family
The first of the missing Nigerian schoolgirls to be rescued since her capture two years ago has an emotional reunion with her mother.

VIDEO: Parkour transforms pupils’ wellbeing
An Aberdeen school says the introduction of parkour is transforming the health and wellbeing of its pupils.

Adoption reform ‘to hasten placements’
A shake-up of adoption rules in England that aims to move more children more quickly from the care system to family life is unveiled in the Queen’s Speech.

Swinney gets education role in reshuffle
John Swinney becomes Scotland’s new education secretary as part of Nicola Sturgeon’s cabinet reshuffle.

‘First Chibok girl found’ in Nigeria
One of the 219 missing Chibok schoolgirls is found in Nigeria, activists say, the first to be rescued since their capture two years ago.

‘Hidden army’ of carers in their 80s
The number of people in their 80s or older who are relied on as carers has rocketed in the last seven years, according to the charity Age UK.

Safety fears ground mortarboard throw
Graduating university students are banned from throwing their mortarboards in the air due to health and safety concerns.

Careers talks ‘boost future earnings’
Careers education given to pupils in secondary school can be linked to higher earnings in adult life, according to researchers.

Sam Smith’s school drops music exams
Sam Smith’s former school announces it plans to drop music at GCSE level, due to a lack of interest.

School inquiry to begin after summer
An independent inquiry into the schools crisis will begin after the summer holidays, the City of Edinburgh Council confirms.

Pupils facing exams system ‘lottery’
Pupils face a “lottery” in the number of exams they are allowed to sit at different schools across Scotland, according to think-tank Reform Scotland.

Supply teacher spend exceeds £800m
Primary and secondary schools in England struggling to recruit teachers spent £821m on supply staff last year, analysis by BBC News finds.

Brexit ‘risk’ for UK universities
UK universities could find it harder to recruit international students if the UK leaves the EU, suggests a survey.

Twins separated due to council ‘cock up’
A mother of four-year-old twins accuses a council of “an absolute cock up” after allocating different schools for her children, one of whom has cerebral palsy.

Ofsted discovers 100 ‘illegal schools’
Many more children are hidden from the authorities in unregistered schools across England than previously thought, Ofsted’s chief inspector says.

University changes plan to be revealed
Plans for more new universities in England, better teaching and higher tuition fees are to be announced by Universities Minister Jo Johnson.

Term-time holiday ruling ‘confusing’
A court ruling backing a parent who refused to pay a fine for taking his child on holiday in term time will cause “huge confusion”, an MP says.

Student loan calculator overhauled
A government loan repayment calculator, used by millions of students, is to be overhauled amid criticism of its calculations.

Holiday outlook – what might change?
What might change after the High Court’s term-time holiday ruling

Pupils sign ‘no fouls’ football contract
Pupils at a Dundee primary school are asked to sign a contract promising not to commit fouls or hog the ball if they want to play football at break times.

Student unions split on leaving NUS
Exeter students vote to stay in the NUS after those at Newcastle and Lincoln choose to leave in the row over the union’s new president.

High Court to rule on term-time holiday
The case of a father who refused to pay a £120 fine for taking his daughter on an unauthorised term-time holiday is due to be heard by the High Court.

Singapore terms join Oxford Dictionary
Several Singaporean and Hong Kong English terms, including “wah”, “shiok”, and “yum cha”, are now officially recognised as acceptable English.

Spurs plan to open north London school
Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and a leading private school, Highgate School, are proposing a state sixth form in north London.

Helpline takes more exam stress calls
A rising number of UK youngsters are seeking help to cope with the stress of exams, the charity ChildLine says.

Flagship academy trust head steps aside
The head of a flagship academy trust praised by the prime minister resigns amid claims of financial mismanagement.

Poor school buildings ‘harming pupils’
Too many UK pupils are trying to learn in classrooms that are damaging their health and their education, say architects.

UK ‘losing international student share’
The UK is losing its share of the international student market because of its immigration strategy, says a new parliamentary group.

Sats: ‘I’ve told my son not to worry’
Year 6 pupils across England are sitting Sats this week, but are children feeling the pressure?

VIDEO: Sats are ‘incomprehensible’
The shadow education secretary says that the current Sats tests are “impenetrable and incomprehensible”.

School inquiry ‘to conclude by year end’
Edinburgh Council says it expects an independent inquiry into the closure of 17 schools in the city to conclude before the end of the year.

Thai smartwatch exam cheats force resit
Some 3,000 students in Thailand must retake university entrance exams after a cheating scam involving cameras and smartwatches is uncovered.

Second Sats test ‘published by mistake’
A second Sats spelling and grammar test due to be taken by children in England has been accidentally published online.

‘I’m in charge of worrying’ – Teachers taking the stress out of Sats tests
How some primary school teachers are trying to remove the fear being felt by pupils ahead of their big exams.

University strike could threaten exams
University lecturers announce a two-day strike at UK universities this month during the exam season.

Sats tests letter to pupils goes viral
An inspiring letter sent out to pupils by several schools ahead of upcoming Sats tests goes viral.

Digital skills ‘guard against job loss’
Schools should put a greater emphasis on teaching digital technology – as millions of jobs could be swept away by automation, says Lord Kenneth Baker.

VIDEO: Children’s tips to cope with exam stress
A group of 10 and 11 year olds offer their advice to other children preparing to sit their Sats.

Primary pupils ‘feel test pressure’
The overwhelming majority of 10- and 11-year-old pupils in England feel pressure to do well in tests, a survey suggests.

Unions hail scrapping of academy plans
Teaching unions welcome a decision by Education Secretary Nicky Morgan to scrap plans to make all state schools in England become academies.

VIDEO: Government U-turn on academies
The government has announced a major climb-down from its plan to force all schools in England to become academies.

Computing GCSE ‘compromised’ claim
Teachers fear OCR’S GCSE in computing has been “blatantly compromised” after students found controlled assessment answers in a textbook.

Government U-turn over forced academies
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan announces the government will not now pursue plans to force all schools in England to become academies.

Special needs pupils school place delay
Solicitors say thousands of pupils with special needs were not offered secondary school places, assessed to be suitable for them, by the official deadline.

Axed health champion fears for young
The former mental health champion for schools in England says the government’s decision to axe her role silences young people and teachers.

Schools mental-health champion axed
The job of the government’s mental-health champion for schools in England is axed after she criticised the pressure put on children by the current testing regime.

Hiddleston defends war zone children
Tom Hiddleston, television and movie star, has called for more support for millions of children caught in armed conflict.

UK universities slip in world rankings
The UK has 10 universities in the top 100 of the world’s best when it comes to global reputation, but many have slipped down the rankings in the past year.

Sats protest: Parents speak out over testing
Parents explain why they want their children to face fewer tests.

Unicef: 75m children deprived of school
Some 75 million school-age children in crisis areas around the world are in desperate need of educational support, according to a new report by Unicef.

Primary academies ‘mixed results’
High-achieving primary schools which become academies show no improvement, but weaker schools make more progress, according to research.

Syrian refugee students rebuild from Beirut
Syrian refugee students rebuild from Beirut

Exam papers replaced after ‘leak’
Exam papers for this year’s Higher English tests have had to be replaced at short notice amid concerns some questions were leaked.

Rich and poor lifespan gap ‘widening’
The gap between the lifespans of rich and poor people in England and Wales is rising for the first time since the 1870s, research suggests.

Parents plan school boycott over tests
Thousands of parents in England are threatening to keep their children off school for the day in a protest about primary tests.

End primary school ‘chaos’, heads say
Head teachers cannot and will not endure another year of the “chaos” that has raged in England’s primary schools, the National Association of Head Teachers’ conference hears.

VIDEO: Should all children study RE?
Head teachers are to discuss whether parents in England should be allowed to take their children out of religious education classes, on the grounds that it undermines the teaching of “British values”.

VIDEO: ‘You don’t have to test to assess’
Sally Bates, head of Wadsworth Fields Primary School and James Bowen, from the NAHT, give their opinions on mass academisation and testing.

VIDEO: Morgan heckled over academy plans
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan has been heckled at the National Association of Head Teachers’ conference in Birmingham.

Morgan heckled at heads’ conference
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan is heckled at the NAHT head teachers’ conference as she defends the government’s academy plans and new primary school tests.

Head’s doubts over mass academisation
A heads teachers’ leader has expressed his doubts about government plans to force all schools in England to become academies.

Schools could stay closed until August
A number of the 17 Edinburgh schools closed on safety grounds are unlikely to reopen until the new school year in August, BBC Scotland learns.

School bans ‘abusive’ swearing parents
Some parents are banned from entering a Kent school without a pre-booked appointment after staff are verbally abused.

VIDEO: Is primary testing too stressful?
The testing regime for primary schools in England is in chaos and distracting to pupils, says the National Association of Head Teachers.

Primary testing regime in chaos – heads
Head teachers say the testing regime for primary schools in England is in chaos and distracting to pupils.

VIDEO: Who faces highest graduate debts?
A new report, Degree of Debt, looks at where in the English-speaking world students can rack up the highest amount of debt, and BBC News asks: “Is it worth it?”

‘Not diverse’ nursery report withdrawn
A report claiming a Market Rasen nursery was failing to teach toddlers about cultural diversity has been withdrawn by Ofsted.

Warning on subject choice at 16
Too many university applicants realise too late they picked the wrong school subjects at 16, says the consumer group Which?

England degree debt ‘higher than peers’
University graduates in England face higher debts on graduation than their peers in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the Sutton Trust says.

Care children denied mental health help
Children in care have more mental health problems but too often miss out on treatment, say MPs.

Morgan offers no academy concessions
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan offered MPs no compromises over controversial plans to force all of England’s schools to become academies.

Parents plan school protest over Sats
Thousands of parents in England plan to keep their children off school for a day next week in protest at tough new national tests, campaigners say.

Muslim school staff ‘divided by gender’
Ofsted chief Sir Michael Wilshaw warns gender segregation is still taking place among teachers in Muslim independent schools.

Do students pick universities because of movies?
Do students pick universities because of movies?

Government wins vote on child refugees
MPs vote against an attempt to force the government to allow 3,000 unaccompanied child refugees into the UK from Europe.

India ‘sedition’ students suspended
Two Indian students accused of sedition for helping organise a protest at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University are suspended from campus.

Honorary degree for Dr Who star Tennant
Doctor Who star David Tennant to be awarded an honorary degree from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

The country planning to privatise education
The country planning to privatise its primary schools

Tory MPs ‘challenge academy compulsion’
Education Secretary Nicky Morgan defends plans to force all schools to become academies – but backbench Tories want her to drop the compulsion.

Council run academies ‘could be easier’
In a bid to avert a backbench rebellion, ministers have signal they could make it easier for councils to run academies

NUS ‘right to have no platform policy’
Nearly two-thirds (63%) of university students believe the National Union of Students is right to have a “no platforming” policy, a Victoria Derbyshire programme survey suggests.