THIS WEEK
25-31 AUGUST 2012
SATURDAY
Star turns all round
“Only three A* grades? What went wrong, Jemima?” Wycombe Abbey, a girls’ boarding school in Buckinghamshire, topped the A-level league table for the independent sector. Students gained an average of four A* grades.
SUNDAY
GCSE grades disappoint
The GCSE “grade-fixing” scandal rumbled on, with hundreds of schools complaining that their pupils had been unfairly treated. The exams watchdog Ofqual agreed to look into those suspicious-looking English marks.
MONDAY
Private school fees rise
It’s official, private schools are getting pricier. Research from Lloyds TSB found fees had increased 68 per cent in the past decade, pricing out many parents. Maybe the local comp ain’t so bad?
TUESDAY
None in a million
News emerged that one of the government’s “flagship” free schools had had its funding withdrawn weeks before it was due to open. The One in a Million School in Bradford had not generated enough interest from parents.
WEDNESDAY
Paralympic glory awaits
The Paralympics began as PE teacher Emma Wiggs prepared to take to the sitting volleyball court at the ExCeL centre in London. Her pupils will be there to support, and mop up when the sweat starts to fly.
THURSDAY
Women on top
A wife-carrying championship is one of the last events of the summer season of silly sports. Taking place at Hereford Racecourse, the winner gets their wife’s weight in beer. Another pie, Deirdre?
FRIDAY
Who will be crowned?
Just when you thought beauty pageants were a sexist anachronism, London hosts the finals of Teen Queen UK. And you always told pupils it’s what’s on the inside that matters. And what fake tan you use, obviously.
NEXT WEEK
1-7 SEPTEMBER 2012
SATURDAY
The tightrope gets tighter
Stressed-out teachers have something new to worry about, as measures to make it easier to sack staff come into effect. Heads will now be able to ditch underperforming teachers after a term, rather than a year.
SUNDAY
The 25-year strike
Trade unionists celebrate the longest strike in history, which took place at Burston Village School in Norfolk from 1914 to 1939. Staff and pupils walked out after two teachers were sacked for socialist and trade union views.
MONDAY
First day back and loving it?
You’ve bought a new pencil case and sourced some jazzy new biros from a local stationer, and now it’s time to brace, brace, brace. It’s the first week back for most schools... and politicians return to work too.
TUESDAY
Educational matters debated
Professor Zeus Leonardo, of the University of California, Berkeley, is among the speakers in Manchester for the British Educational Research Association conference. Expect high-end symposia and lectures.
WEDNESDAY
Can you feel the force?
After his starring role in the Olympic opening ceremony, web creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee will host the launch of the World Wide Web Foundation’s new Web Index of global impact.
THURSDAY
The next chapter
What is the future of children’s literature in an era of iPads, kindles and t’internet? Teen author Malorie Blackman is in Cambridge to give the Philippa Pearce Memorial Lecture examining 21st-century storytelling.
FRIDAY
A healthy diet for greens
Expect a buffet of wind-powered tofu and knitted ham at this year’s Green Party conference in Bristol. Speakers will include Jonathon Porritt, founder of sustainability campaign group Forum for the Future.
