Independent school fees rise by 63%

THE SCOTSMAN

- The cost of privately educating children in Scotland has soared by 63 per cent in 10 years, with the average family expected to fork out almost pound;10,000 per child per year. Independent schools now charge an average pound;9,816, up from pound;6,309 a decade ago, an increase “significantly” above inflation.

Tuition fees legal challenge faces funding issues

THE HERALD

- A legal challenge to the Scottish government’s controversial policy of enabling Scottish universities to charge English students up to pound;9,000 a year in tuition fees could fail to materialise. The Birmingham-based Public Interest Lawyers, acting for two clients, had intended to lodge a petition for judicial review at the Court of Session, but a lengthy process of seeking legal aid has delayed the attempt.

Free benefits are now under threat

THE TIMES

- Free benefits in Scotland are under threat following a warning that the country’s hospitals, schools and other public services are facing a multi- million-pound shortfall. Papers published by Holyrood’s finance committee show that senior public sector chiefs believe SNP ministers need to ration popular policies such as free personal care for the elderly.

Hash risk

THE SUN

- Cannabis use by young teenagers can lower IQ and may cause permanent mental impairment, research shows. Heaviest users suffered an eight-point fall from adolescence to adulthood, plus attention and memory problems. Quitting later in life did not fully reverse the impact, experts found.

Sports quango workers admit being couch potatoes

THE SCOTSMAN

- Staff at a governing body for promoting sport have been criticised after it emerged that almost two-thirds of them failed to meet their own exercise targets. Sixty per cent of sportscotland staff admitted not taking 30 minutes of exercise five times a week, while over 12 per cent owned up to barely or never exercising at all.