The Treasury has taken back £384m originally promised for schools in England - at a time when head teachers are protesting about a cash crisis. The money had been announced last year to fund a plan to require all schools to become academies. But the Department for Education has revealed that when the compulsory academy plan was ditched, the Treasury took back most of this extra funding. Heads said this was "outrageous" when schools could not "make ends meet". But the Department for Education...

The University of Bristol has just announced its Bristol Scholars scheme, which will offer places to five students from every school and college in the Bristol area on the basis of their potential rather than their actual attainment. It is an innovative move, at least in England, and has already attracted criticism. The reactions of the Times and the Times are predictable. But the scheme raises two big issues, as well as an opportunity for the sector. The first is philosophical: on what basis...

Theresa May will move on Monday to reassure business leaders that they will not suffer skills shortages as a result of Brexit, when she places expansion of vocational education at the heart of a new proactive industrial strategy. Many businesses worry that the UK’s departure from the single market will not only damage their trade with Europe but will also make it more difficult to attract enough suitable workers. Before Christmas, the Institute of Directors called on May to address the issue ...

A new searchable pool of resources captures the legacy of the National Networks for Collaborative Outreach. Between 2015 and 2016, HEFCE funded the National Networks for Collaborative Outreach. This £22 million scheme brought together universities, colleges, schools, and other advisers, to carry out outreach activity in their areas. It supported 35 local networks, a network for all the London boroughs, 3 national networks to address national priorities, and 18 projects with a focus on part...

Positive parental and friendship group influences are key to cutting drop-out rates, according to Arizona State University research. The researchers interviewed vulnerable students at a Chicago high school. Parents' influence fell if pupils had too much contact with other disaffected students, the researchers found. The researchers spoke to 125 pupils, aged 15 to 18, at a school with one of the worst drop-out rates in the city and analysed their records. They concluded that students' academic...

Education Secretary Justine Greening is to announce a wave of "research schools" to raise standards in disadvantaged parts of England. This will be part of an announcement of six more "opportunity areas", where efforts will be focused to improve social mobility. There will now be 12 opportunity areas in total and each will have a research school. These schools will encourage innovation and share evidence-based ideas. The six new opportunity areas will be Bradford, Doncaster, Fenland and East...

There is widespread confusion about England's new GCSE grading system, says the exams regulator Ofqual. Starting this summer, GCSE grades A* to G will be phased out in favour of grades numbered from nine to one. However, around 70% of more than 400 parents and pupils surveyed by Ofqual did not understand the system. Read More

Claims by Theresa May that grammar schools have proved to be great engines of social mobility have been undermined by figures showing that the vast majority of grammars admit only a tiny proportion of children from the poorest families. As pupils return after the Christmas break, official figures show that in many grammar schools, less than 1% of the total pupil intake receives free school meals (an indicator of the poorest families). Only one of the 163 selective schools in England takes in ...

Black and Asian Muslim children are less likely to get professional jobs, despite doing better at school, according to an official report. The Social Mobility Commission said it uncovered "stark differences" between how groups progress into work. Some minorities have higher jobless rates, although poorer white boys are least likely to go to university. Alan Milburn, chair of the Commission, said the British 'social mobility promise' was being broken. "British families are told that if their ...

The gap between the richest and the poorest students going to university has widened, according to new figures. Statistics from the university admissions body Ucas show the percentage of people from the richest backgrounds going into higher education is increasing at a faster rate compared to those from the poorest. Since 2014, the number of young people from the most deprived areas going to university has increased by 0.8%.Those from the richest backgrounds saw their chances of success in...