Education may delay motherhood

The Scotsman

- Women are having children later in life because they are spending longer in education, new research claims. Academics from the University of Southampton looked at women in Britain and France and found that finishing full-time education, and training at an older average age, is the main reason why people are having their first child later in life.

Bunking off, and teacher’s here too

The Times

- The athletes’ parade was the culmination of a serious bout of Olympic fever at Grasvenor Avenue Infant School in Barnet. Lynne Ogden, deputy head, was a Games Maker and has infused the entire curriculum with the Games. Yesterday morning, Years 1 and 2 bunked off school to watch the parade in Trafalgar Square and Ms Ogden bunked off with them.

Gruffalo Julia’s plea for libraries

Daily Record

- Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson has urged the new Westminster culture secretary to “show some leadership” and prevent cuts to libraries. The writer, who was named Children’s Laureate last year, told Maria Miller - who replaced Jeremy Hunt in the recent reshuffle - that cutting library budgets was “a false economy”.

Academies bring banned junk food back to school meals

The Guardian

- A third of academy schools are selling junk food that is banned in maintained schools under regulations to protect children’s health, a series of Freedom of Information requests has revealed. Out of 108 academies that responded to the requests, 29 were selling chocolate and other confectionery, nine admitted selling fizzy drinks and seven sold energy drinks such as Red Bull.

Cambridge loses best university ranking

The Times

- The University of Cambridge has lost its place at the top of a world ranking of universities, slipping to second behind the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The institution, known as MIT, is now ranked as the best university in the world, partly because of its superior staff-to- student ratio.