January 2010: Education news

Welcome to Dean Associates' Winter briefing on the leading education stories affecting relocating families and companies.

Applications soar for primary school places.

Education authorites in cities and towns across the UK have warned about the rise in applications for state primary school places.

A baby boom, migration levels and the recession forcing parents to pull back from private schools are being blamed.

Many councils are taking emergency measures to create "bulge" classes in community schools. However, this may mean that places for relocating families are going to be harder to come by in the state sector.

Universities facing "meltdown."

The Russell Group - the voice of the UK's leading universities - has warned that government cuts to higher education will downgrade the current "gold" standard of th UK's higher education to one of "bronze or worse."

The universities warn of courses being closed, academic staff slashed and an increase in class size. They argue that higher education in France and Germany is seeing a rise in state funding.

There was a record university intake in 2009 leading to greater competition for places. Preliminary figures showed applications up a further 12% this year.

With the size of the national deficit cuts do seem inevitable. What also seems set in stone is that the review of higher education funding will back an increase in tuition fees from the current cap of £3250 per year.

The case for "free" schools.

There has been much media debate over English schools copying the Swedish "free" school model.

This allows parents to "claim" the money that the education authority would spend on schooling their child and invest it in an independent school, or, potentially, club together with other parents to set up their own schools.

Effectively this would be independent schooling funded by the state. Although the education authority would impose rules on allowing equal access to such schools, control over management and curriculum would reside in the hands of the parents.

As yet, none of the political parties have backed the concept formally. The government says that its academy programme allows for external institutions - for example businesses, charities or universities - to run schools. However, the financial barrier of establishing, building and running a school is too high for most parents to climb over.


1 in 10 English secondaries schools "failing"

Recently published GCSE results for English schools have shown that 1 in 10 schools have not reached the acceptable "benchmark" figure of 30% of pupils achieving 5 or more A-C grades including English and Maths.

The government threatens to close schools that are unable to bring their results up to this level. In 2009 49% of pupils reached the acceptable level.