A new law in England limits compulsory school uniform items to three branded pieces plus a tie from September, aiming to save families money, though consistency varies and some schools and suppliers face challenges.
Despite immense parental devotion and sacrifice in Hong Kong, a gap often exists between parents' perceived love and children's felt support, a phenomenon linked to family dysfunction and potentially impacting child well-being.
An independent inquiry in England recommends high-performing schools prioritize admitting disadvantaged white working-class pupils to address their underachievement, with systemic changes and support beyond schools.
A survey of UK schools reveals mixed adoption of AI. 40% are using it, 40% are learning, and 40% are delaying due to talent, manpower, and funding issues. Focus is on teaching applications.
Hong Kong teachers must complete 30 hours of digital education training every three years. Schools will integrate digital elements into development plans, and an innovation/tech curriculum will be rolled out for pupils, with AI integration a key focus.
Victorian secondary schools will limit classroom device use to two hours per day from 2027, a national-first plan aiming to reduce screen time and encourage traditional learning methods. Primary school students will also face new screen time limits.
Scotland's secondary schools are reducing timetables and cutting subjects due to a shortage of specialist teachers, particularly in maths, science, design technology, and computing, with over 4,000 unfilled PGDE training spaces in the past nine years.
Utsunomiya, Japan closes all 94 schools after a medium-sized black bear is spotted multiple times in the city, prompting a search and warnings for residents.
Malaysia's government now permits students with the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) from Chinese independent secondary schools and other non-mainstream institutions to apply to public universities, provided they meet specific requirements like passing Malay language and history.
England's state schools saw a drop of over 1,900 teachers this year, marking the second consecutive annual decline. The Department for Education claims progress on a pledge to recruit 6,500 additional teachers, but union leaders and researchers point to record low new entrants and question the figures.
The Native English Speaking Teachers’ Association in Hong Kong warns that a new flexible pay scheme, decoupling salary from years of service, risks attracting lower-quality recruits and diminishing English education standards. Experienced teachers face contract non-renewals, and the scheme's instability may deter educators from settling in Hong Kong.
Labour plans to cut primary school sport funding in England, replacing a £320m annual grant with a £193m "sport partnerships network" for all schools. Critics fear a 40% cut, while the DfE claims additional capital funding and transition payments will mitigate the impact.
Labour's plan to scrap the £320m primary school PE and sports premium and replace it with a £193m sport partnerships network has been met with scepticism by school leaders, who warn of a 40% cut in funding and lack of clarity.
A meningitis outbreak has been linked to two Berkshire schools following the death of a student at Henley College. The UK Health Security Agency confirmed the news, stating that students from Reading Blue Coat School and Highdown Secondary School are undergoing treatment. Health officials are working with schools to provide advice and precautionary treatment to close contacts, emphasizing that the risk to the wider public remains low.
All 15 secondary schools in Sutton, London are piloting VR headsets from tech firm Phase Space in partnership with the local NHS mental health trust. The seven-minute VR programme helps pupils manage stress from exams, ADHD, anxiety, and difficult home lives. Nine out of ten pupils who used the headsets saw an immediate drop in stress, with improvements also seen in attendance and behaviour.
Hong Kong’s education authorities will relax rules for under-enrolled public secondary schools that merge with others in a bid to encourage consolidation amid declining student numbers. In a circular sent to all public secondary schools on Wednesday, the Education Bureau said merged schools would be exempt from submitting survival plans in the first three years after merging, even if they fail to admit 30 students or form two Form One classes. The bureau said the move aimed to “further support...
A major study by UCL's Institute of Education finds that teaching pupils in classes grouped by ability improves progress for high-achievers in maths while having no significant negative impact on lower-attaining or disadvantaged pupils. Research involving 97 English secondary schools shows high-fliers in mixed-ability classes make two months less progress than those in set classes, with minimal difference for low-attainers. The findings challenge previous claims that ability grouping harms confidence of students outside top sets.
