Student Loans Company reviews processes after 'spying' scandal

August 8, 2018, 8:55 am

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Company reviews anti-fraud methods that led to vulnerable students losing their funding

The Student Loans Company (SLC) is reviewing its process for detecting fraud after the Guardian revealed that dozens of vulnerable students were losing funding and dropping out of university despite no finding of guilt against them.

The SLC made a random selection of 150 estranged students, part of a group recognised as vulnerable because they have no relationship with their parent and tend to be financially disadvantaged, and asked them to provide evidence that they no longer had contact with their families.

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Highly rated academy gave Sats pupils too much help – inquiry

August 8, 2018, 9:37 am

≫ Next: The Guardian view on Shahidul Alam: Bangladesh should let him go | Editorial

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Students at north London school miss out on results for English reading and maths

A primary school praised by ministers as a model academy “over-aided” pupils in this year’s national tests, a government investigation has concluded.

Year 6 pupils at Harris Academy Philip Lane in Tottenham, north London, were given too much help in their English reading and maths reasoning Sats, according to the Standards and Testing Agency (STA).

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The Guardian view on Shahidul Alam: Bangladesh should let him go | Editorial

August 8, 2018, 10:16 am

≫ Next: Bodies in Birmingham exhibition could be executed Chinese prisoners, says doctor

≪ Previous: Highly rated academy gave Sats pupils too much help – inquiry

The acclaimed photographer and activist is one of many targeted under a draconian law. He should be freed, and the legislation changed

The work of renowned photographer and social activist Shahidul Alam has appeared in publications worldwide, including the Guardian. Now attention is on the 63-year-old himself. Police in Bangladesh have arrested him over “provocative comments” on Facebook; he was seized just after giving an interview about protests that have convulsed the country. As Mr Alam observed, demonstrations initially about road safety were fuelled by anger over issues including corruption and gagging of the media by the ruling Awami League. The resulting crackdown has seen police use teargas and rubber bullets on the streets – and the notorious section 57 of the information and communication technology act against Mr Alam. It has been employed against scores of citizens, and more than 20 journalists recently, for perfectly normal criticism or discussion of leaders. Even the government concedes it should go; unfortunately, the proposed replacement is in some ways worse.

Britain and others should press for proper reform of the law, as well as urging the authorities to release Mr Alam, drop the charges and thoroughly investigate allegations of mistreatment in custody; friends of the photographer said he was unable to walk by himself into court and told them he had been assaulted. Governments and international bodies have a special duty to press this case. Mr Alam’s contribution to photography has been truly global: he founded Drik, Bangladesh’s first picture library and its Majority World agency, promoting photographers from Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East; has trained hundreds of photographers in South Asia; and indeed is a visiting professor at the University of Sunderland. Charging such a high-profile figure is surely intended to have a chilling effect. To defend Mr Alam is to defend the right of journalists, and citizens in general, to speak out in Bangladesh.

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Bodies in Birmingham exhibition could be executed Chinese prisoners, says doctor

August 8, 2018, 11:04 am

≫ Next: English schools are broken. Only radical action will fix them | Melissa Benn

≪ Previous: The Guardian view on Shahidul Alam: Bangladesh should let him go | Editorial

Real Bodies show at NEC leads to call for an investigation into exhibits’ identities

The bodies of 20 Chinese people featured in a UK museum exhibition could be those of prisoners once detained in labour camps, and victims of the death penalty in China, according to a leading doctor.

The Real Bodies exhibition, currently at the Birmingham NEC, publicly displays the skinless preserved bodies. But there are now calls for an investigation into their identities and cause of death to be held while they are in the UK.

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English schools are broken. Only radical action will fix them | Melissa Benn

August 8, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: A PhD should be about improving society, not chasing academic kudos | Julian Kircherr

≪ Previous: Bodies in Birmingham exhibition could be executed Chinese prisoners, says doctor

From failed free schools to poor funding and inequality, education needs drastic reform to create a fairer model

Even for the sceptical, the suddenness and speed with which the academy schools project has fallen from public grace is remarkable. After years of uncritical acceptance of official claims that academies, and free schools, offer a near cast-iron guarantee of a better-quality education, particularly for poorer pupils, there is now widespread recognition of the drear reality: inadequate multi-academy trusts failing thousands of pupils, parents increasingly shut out of their children’s education, and academy executive heads creaming off excessive salaries – in some cases almost three times higher than the prime minister– from a system perilously squeezed of funds.

Crisis can be an overworked term in politics, and our schools are good examples of public institutions, subject to years of poor political decisions, that continue to do remarkable work. But along with the academy mess, we can add the following to the current charge sheet of what should be (along with the NHS) our finest public service: pressing problems with recruitment and retention of teachers; rocketing stress among young children and teenagers subject to stringent testing and tougher public exams; and the ongoing funding crisis.

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A PhD should be about improving society, not chasing academic kudos | Julian Kircherr

August 9, 2018, 2:53 am

≫ Next: 'I allow myself a mini-wallow': how to handle rejection in the arts

≪ Previous: English schools are broken. Only radical action will fix them | Melissa Benn

Too much research is aimed at insular academic circles rather than the real world. Let’s fix this broken system

When you look at the stats, it’s hard not to conclude that the current PhD system is fundamentally broken. Mental health issues are rife: approximately one-third of PhD students are at risk of having or developing a psychiatric disorder like depression. The high level of dropouts is similarly worrying – and possibly another symptom of the same problem. Research suggests that on average 50% of PhD students leave graduate school without finishing – with numbers higher at some institutions.

What’s more, aspiring scientists who manage to finish usually take much longer than originally planned. For instance, a PhD in Germany is supposed to take three years, according to university regulations, but most students need five years to complete one. In the US, meanwhile, the average completion time for a PhD in education sciences surpasses 13 years. The result is that in most countries, PhD students usually don’t graduate until they are well into their 30s.

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'I allow myself a mini-wallow': how to handle rejection in the arts

August 9, 2018, 8:14 am

≫ Next: I'm moving to a less prestigious university – and I'm thrilled | Anonymous academic

≪ Previous: A PhD should be about improving society, not chasing academic kudos | Julian Kircherr

Knock-backs are normal when starting out in the industry. Here, the pros share their advice for dealing with them

When Olivia Gagan landed her dream creative job, she didn’t expect to be fired just a few months later. But at the end of her probation period, in what was to be the biggest rejection of her life, the then 27-year-old was called into a meeting room with her boss and asked to leave the building immediately.

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I'm moving to a less prestigious university – and I'm thrilled | Anonymous academic

August 10, 2018, 1:53 am

≫ Next: Female scientists launch campaign to debunk gender 'facts'

≪ Previous: 'I allow myself a mini-wallow': how to handle rejection in the arts

I’ve experienced colleagues’ snobbishness towards newer universities, but they can offer better, more fulfilling careers

I can already picture the twitch of my colleagues’ raised eyebrows, quivering behind a smokescreen of congratulation. They will ask a rhetorical question such as “what will your teaching load be like?”, because everyone knows that early-career academics taking up a first lectureship in a post-1992 university are burdened with heavy lecturing loads, with no time for developing research or other scholarly activities.

I have studied and worked in some of the UK’s top universities and am more than aware of a strong prejudice against post-1992 universities. I’ve seen this in the disdainful attitudes towards non-Russell Group institutions and those who choose to leave “pure” academic careers.

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Female scientists launch campaign to debunk gender 'facts'

August 10, 2018, 4:25 am

≫ Next: Boris Johnson’s burqa remarks are no surprise – his misogyny goes far back | Robert Verkaik

≪ Previous: I'm moving to a less prestigious university – and I'm thrilled | Anonymous academic

Plan to get book into every UK school to help encourage girls to overcome structural barriers

Two scientists have launched a campaign to get a copy of a book that debunks accepted scientific “facts” about women into every state school in the UK.

The physicist Jess Wade, best known as “chief troublemaker at Imperial College London”, and Claire Murray, a chemist and beamline scientist at a UKsynchrotron, are raising funds to buy copies of Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New Science That’s Rewriting the Story by Angela Saini. The actor Daniel Radcliffe has described it as one of his favourite books.

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Boris Johnson’s burqa remarks are no surprise – his misogyny goes far back | Robert Verkaik

August 10, 2018, 5:26 am

≫ Next: Female scientists urge research grants reform to tackle gender bias

≪ Previous: Female scientists launch campaign to debunk gender 'facts'

The seeds of his bigotry were sown in Eton and cultivated at Oxford, forming an outlook that is central to his politics

Boris Johnson’s comparison of women to inanimate objects such as letterboxes betrays a kind of misogyny that has become an all too familiar feature of his alpha-male politics.

This is the man who in his first flush of reporting at the Telegraph in 1996 wrote an article about the Labour conference in Blackpool, which he devoted to reviewing the quality of “the hot totty” delegates who were present.

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Female scientists urge research grants reform to tackle gender bias

August 10, 2018, 5:52 am

≫ Next: Clearing: how parents can help

≪ Previous: Boris Johnson’s burqa remarks are no surprise – his misogyny goes far back | Robert Verkaik

Data shows 90% of engineering and physical sciences funding in UK goes to male-led projects

Leading female scientists are calling for urgent reform of the distribution of research funding after data revealed that almost 90% of grants awarded in the field of engineering and physical sciences over the past decade have gone to projects led by men.

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Clearing: how parents can help

August 10, 2018, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Calls to clearing: 'One mum pretended to be her son. It was surreal'

≪ Previous: Female scientists urge research grants reform to tackle gender bias

Adulthood is just around the corner, but for now, as they tackle clearing, your children need calm, non-judgmental support, says Gavan Naden

Results day can be a nerve-racking experience if things don’t go your child’s way, but parents should try to not get swept up in the emotion. Take three deep breaths, set your face to neutral and, most importantly, keep listening to your child. This is when they need you most.

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Calls to clearing: 'One mum pretended to be her son. It was surreal'

August 11, 2018, 1:00 am

≫ Next: Need some perspective before university? Take a gap year

≪ Previous: Clearing: how parents can help

Many of the people answering clearing calls will be volunteers who have been through it themselves. They’ve got some advice, and some stories to tell ...

One of the first rules of clearing is that your mum can’t phone up for you. And she certainly shouldn’t impersonate you.

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Need some perspective before university? Take a gap year

August 11, 2018, 3:00 am

≫ Next: Unicycles, skydives and stand-up: five out-there ideas for a new student hobby

≪ Previous: Calls to clearing: 'One mum pretended to be her son. It was surreal'

Exams, exams, exams ... are you ready for a break? Time volunteering overseas will be a confidence-building adventure

A six-month stint working and travelling around Australia? Or three months volunteering on a sea turtles conservation programme in Costa Rica? With so many options available, deciding what to do when you’ve deferred university for a year can be both fun and exhausting; so begin by knuckling down to some research. Start by talking to those around you. Maybe your uncle is a seasoned backpacker who can regale you with stories of travelling around Europe before the internet took off, or your older sister took an internship that enabled her to get on a graduate scheme.

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Unicycles, skydives and stand-up: five out-there ideas for a new student hobby

August 11, 2018, 7:00 am

≫ Next: A decade after the crash, we still borrow too much and invest too little

≪ Previous: Need some perspective before university? Take a gap year

If you’ve already got a hobby, there’s a society catering for it. If you haven’t, now’s the time to experiment

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A decade after the crash, we still borrow too much and invest too little

August 11, 2018, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: Middle-class teenagers 'play the system to get into top universities'

≪ Previous: Unicycles, skydives and stand-up: five out-there ideas for a new student hobby

The banking crisis prompted talk of economic reform, shared prosperity and a ‘march of the makers’. None of it has happened

A decade ago, Britain was in the early stages of what would turn out to be the deepest recession of recent times. It has never really recovered.

Only twice in the past 10 years has the economy broken out of its post-crisis torpor. The first time was in late 2009 and early 2010, when the country was jolted back into life by the monetary and fiscal stimulus provided by the Bank of England. That rally was killed off by George Osborne’s ill-timed austerity and by the protracted troubles of the eurozone.

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Middle-class teenagers 'play the system to get into top universities'

August 11, 2018, 11:00 pm

≫ Next: How to get a degree without going to university – and other life routes

≪ Previous: A decade after the crash, we still borrow too much and invest too little

Richer applicants shop around through clearing to detriment of poorer peers, say experts

Middle-class teenagers and their parents are increasingly using university clearing to shop around for the best courses to the detriment of their less well-off peers, education experts have warned ahead of A-level results day next week.

A growing number of applicants are picking and choosing better offers as the Russell Group of leading research universities have significantly increased the number of students they accept through clearing in recent years, according to admissions officers.

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How to get a degree without going to university – and other life routes

August 12, 2018, 12:00 am

≫ Next: Mature students who embrace clearing: 'Getting a degree was life-changing'

≪ Previous: Middle-class teenagers 'play the system to get into top universities'

Not interested in traditional campus life? Apprenticeships, colleges and private institutions provide alternatives

Degree apprenticeships
These are offered by employers, usually in partnership with a training provider, such as a university or further education (FE) college. You’ll end up with a degree, and you’ll earn money while you get it. Many degree apprenticeships also offer a job at the end. “What’s so perfect about the management apprenticeship is that you can work and get on-the-job experience, but still get the qualification of a degree and professional accreditation,” says Afam Sadiku, who is currently working as a channel development manager in premier banking at Barclays UK. He’s doing his chartered manager degree apprenticeship (CMDA) with Anglia Ruskin University. “These kinds of programmes make you mature very quickly,” he adds. “It’s tough, but I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

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Mature students who embrace clearing: 'Getting a degree was life-changing'

August 12, 2018, 3:00 am

≫ Next: Locals decry 'tortuous' exclusion after Glasgow School of Art fire

≪ Previous: How to get a degree without going to university – and other life routes

The transformational benefits of a university education aren’t just for the young

A university degree can transform your life at any age, and each year thousands of mature students enrol on degree courses. For some, it is a second chance for the education they missed out on in their youth. For others, it can be an opportunity to further a passion or interest in the company of like-minded enthusiasts or change career tack.

Clearing is popular with mature students who are less likely to have been helped by schools and colleges to meet the earlier deadlines. Universities keen to fill their places advertise their courses throughout the summer and last year direct entries in August and September were up by 14% on 2016. Of the 16,950 people accepted at university last year after applying directly through clearing, over a third, 67%, were aged 20 or over.

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Locals decry 'tortuous' exclusion after Glasgow School of Art fire

August 12, 2018, 10:00 pm

≫ Next: New A-level and GCSE grades will be handed out fairly, says Ofqual

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Calls for public inquiry grow amid anger at lack of clear schedule for displaced residents and businesses

Local residents and businesses have described their ongoing exclusion from homes and premises around the Glasgow School of Art’s Mackintosh building as “tortuous”, amid growing calls for a public inquiry into the cause of the second blaze to devastate the building in four years.

Nearly two months on from the fire that gutted “the Mack” on the night of 15 June, there is growing anger and frustration at the lack of any timeline for re-entry for those whose properties remain inaccessible. But Tom Inns, the school’s director, has told the Guardian that he hopes the security cordon, imposed by Glasgow city council building control as the painstaking work to stabilise the remaining structure continues, will be reduced in a fortnight.

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