New role for Peter Pan house
- A house that inspired JM Barrie’s Peter Pan will be renovated to become Scotland’s first Centre for Children’s Literature. Moat Brae House in Dumfries has been awarded pound;250,000 through Historic Scotland’s building repair grants scheme. There are plans for a Peter Pan exhibition, a children’s library and writers in residence. A trust is trying to raise pound;615,000 before the end of the year for emergency work.
www.peterpanmoatbrae.org
Exam results texted out early
- A contractor has admitted it was responsible for an error that led to exam results being released a day early. The company charged with texting results, AQL, explained that a space written into a Scottish Qualifications Authority file’s name ensured it could not be formatted in its computer system. As a result, it failed to recognise an embargo and released information immediately, meaning about 30,000 texts were sent on 4 August, nearly 24 hours before scheduled. Education Secretary Michael Russell stressed that no candidate had gained an advantage.
Kidney debt idea condemned
- Sue Rabbitt Roff, a Dundee University researcher, has caused a stir by suggesting that university students should be paid to sell their kidneys and other organs as a way of clearing their debts. A Scottish Government spokeswoman said it was illegal to make payments for organs, there were no plans to change this, and the Education Secretary was in no doubt that universities would ensure students were aware of this.
Physics gains popularity
- Physics is increasing in popularity, with 5 per cent more candidates taking the Higher this year. There were 9,445 candidates, up from 9,015 in 2010. Alison McLure, the Institute of Physics’ national officer in Scotland, said this provided “further evidence that students are choosing to take subjects which offer the best prospects later in life”.
Inspectors praise evaluation group
- Evaluation Support Scotland has been rated highly in an Education Scotland report, with one “excellent” rating, three “very good” and three “good”. The charity’s main purpose is to work with voluntary organisations and funders so that they can measure their impact, report on the difference they make and improve services.
