Teachers refuse to sign pension deal

The Scotsman

Teachers’ leaders have refused to sign up to the UK government’s final offer on pensions, dealing another blow to hopes that the bitter dispute could soon be resolved. The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) said the department for education’s process of trying to reach a deal had been “completely unsatisfactory”.

European students rush to take up free degrees in Scotland

Scottish Daily Mail

Soaring numbers of EU students are applying to Scottish universities - to take advantage of “free” degrees. New statistics from Ucas, the admissions service, showed the number of applications from students in other EU countries had increased by nearly 8 per cent compared with the same time last year.

Mamp;S to sell cut-price school kit

Daily Record

Marks and Spencer has launched a made-to-order school uniform line for up to 50 per cent less than official suppliers. The chain is planning to cash in on the lucrative 1 billion school market with cut-price printing, embroidery and badges tailored for individual schools. The chain joins Tesco in taking on exclusive, expensive schoolwear suppliers.

Councillor to meet pupils

Press and Journal

Skye councillor John Laing will travel to Plockton to greet high school pupils who had to travel to school by train following the closure of a trunk road last month. The A890 Stromeferry bypass between Lochcarron and PlocktonKyle was shut in December following a landslide. Pupils from Lochcarron and Applecross are affected.

Tributes to stabbed teacher

The Times

Friends and former pupils of a retired teacher who was found stabbed to death at her riverside cottage have held a candlelit vigil in her memory. Betty Yates, 77, a widow who lived alone, was found dead last Wednesday at her home on a track beside the River Severn near Bewdley in Worcestershire.