As Ed Miliband announces that Labour would cap tuition fees, academics responsible for the 'alternative white paper' on higher education funding go live online to answer your questions

Over the weekend, Ed Miliband said that Labour would cap tuition fees at £6,000 instead of £9,000 – quite a turn-up for the books, since he opposed the hike in fees last year. "This is a step towards a graduate tax," a Labour source told the Guardian's Nicholas Watt. "We would like to go further, but we can only do what is affordable."

"Affordable" is not a word you'll even find in a new document, an "alternative white paper", published today by academics in fierce opposition to government (and Labour) policy. The report, In Defence of Public Higher Education, written and endorsed by hundreds of academics, focuses not on fees and caps, but on the "public good" of higher education, what it gives to society as well as to individual students.

The government's policies are based on ideology rather than financial necessity, they argue, and will make no lasting savings.

They also say a new debate is urgent, following the August riots. While David Cameron complained then of "moral decline", they say, the government encourages selfishness among young people by presenting higher education as important merely because it increases earning power. They argue that universities have a mission to promote social mobility; that they benefit the whole of society; that generations have a duty to invest in future generations' education.

You can read the Guardian story here, … or the whole document here and list of signatories here.

Are the dons living in cloud cuckoo land? Or are they right?

Want to add your name to the list of 400 supporters? Or to ask the academics where they would find the money for "free" public higher education?

Post your question or comment below for:

• Howard Hotson, professor of early modern intellectual history and a founding member of the Oxford University Campaign for Higher Education;

• John Holmwood, professor of sociology at the University of Nottingham (founder of the Campaign for the Public University), a key author of the paper;

• Danny Dorling; professor of human geography at Sheffield University and author of Injustice: Why Social Inequality Persists.

They will be online from 1pm to 3pm to post their replies.

Hundreds of academics have signed a document that warns of the dire consequences of the government's white paper on higher education. Their names are below

In Defence of Public Higher Education was prepared by a working party of academics and students representing the following campaigns:

Campaign for the Public University,

Oxford University Campaign for Higher Education,

Sussex University Defends Higher Education,

Warwick University Campaign for Higher Education,

Humanities Matter,

No Confidence Campaign,

Cambridge Academic Campaign for Higher Education.

The document was drafted by John Holmwood.

The members of the working party were:

David Barclay, Bruce Beckles, Gurminder K. Bhambra, Thomas Docherty, Naomi Eilan, Robert Gildea, Juliet Henderson, Tim Horder, Howard Hotson, Laura Kirkley, James Ladyman, William McEvoy, Andrew McGettigan, Martha Mackenzie, Dave Legg, David Mond, Kate Tunstall, Simon Szreter, Bernard Sufrin.

Additional contributions from:

Stephen McKay

Claire Callender.

Groups and associations

As well as the above campaigns, the document was endorsed by the following groups and associations:

British Association for American Studies (BAAS);

British International Studies Association Board of Trustees (BISA);

British Philosophical Association (BPA);

Committee of the Free University of Liverpool;

Education Activist Network Steering Committee;

Feminist and Women's Studies Association (FWSA);

Goldsmiths UCU Executive;

Institute of Education UCU Branch;

International Relations Department, University of Sussex;

Justice Violence and Rights Centre, University of Sussex;

King's College London Branch of the University and College Union;

Local Schools Network;

National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts;

Political Studies Association Media and Politics Specialist Group.

Signatories

It has also been endorsed by the following individual signatories:

Professor Jane Aaron, English, University of Glamorgan, FEA, FLSW

Dr Christine Achinger, German Studies, University of Warwick, WUCHE

Professor Sharon Achinstein, Renaissance Literature, Fellow of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Professor Patrick Ainley, School of Education and Training, University of Greenwich

Dr Anne Alexander, Buckley Fellow, Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Daniel Allington, English Language Studies and Applied Linguistics, The Open University

Dr Sarah S Amsler, Sociology, Aston University

Dr Gary Anderson, Liverpool Hope University

Pura Ariza, Institute of Education, Manchester Metropolitan University, UCU MMU Branch Secretary (personal capacity)

Dr Esther Asprey, Research Associate, English Language, Aston University

Revd Professor J Astley, Director, North of England Institute for Christian Education, Honorary Professor, Theology and Religion, Durham University

Dr Hugues Azerad, Fellow and College Lecturer, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Professor Les Back, Sociology, Goldsmiths, University of London

Dr Paul Bagguley, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Leeds

Dr Michael Bailey, Sociology, University of Essex

Professor Zenon Bańkowski, Edinburgh Law School, University of Edinburgh

Professor Zygmunt G Baranski, Serena Professor of Italian, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Clive Barnett, Human Geography, The Open University

Professor Ronald Barnett, Emeritus Professor of Higher Education, Institute of Education, University of London

Dr Leah Bassel, Sociology, University of Leicester

Dr John Bates, University of Glasgow

Dr Matthew Beaumont, English, UCL, CACHE

Bruce Beckles, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Duncan Bell, Politics and International Studies, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Erin Bell, University of Lincoln

Mark Bergfeld, Education Activist Network Steering Committee, NUS National Executive Council (personal capacity)

Dr Gurminder K Bhambra, Sociology, Director of the Social Theory Centre, University of Warwick, CPU, WUCHE

Professor Gargi Bhattacharyya, Sociology and Public Policy, Aston University

Dr Michael Biggs, Sociology, Fellow of St Cross College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Professor Simon Biggs, Edinburgh College of Art, University of Edinburgh, OUCHE

Professor Peter Biller, History, University of York

Dr Chiara Binelli, Economics, University of Southampton, Research Associate, Institute for Fiscal Studies

Dr Ruth Blakeley, International Relations, University of Kent, Trustee for BISA

Dr Claire Blencowe, Sociology, University of Warwick

Dr Kasia Boddy, English, University College London

Dr Andrea den Boer, International Politics, University of Kent

Dr Vikki Boliver, Sociology, Durham University

Professor Joanna Bornat, Emeritus Professor, Open University

Dr Elizabeth Boyle, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Maud Anne Bracke, Modern European History, University of Glasgow

Dr Michael Brady, Philosophy, University of Glasgow, Director of the British Philosophical Association

Professor Bob Brecher, Humanities, University of Brighton

Professor John D Brewer, MRIA, FRSE, AcSS, FRSA, Sociology, University of Aberdeen, President of the British Sociological Association

Professor David Bridges, Emeritus Professor , University of East Anglia, Professorial Fellow, University of Cambridge Faculty of Education

Casey Brienza, Doctoral Researcher, University of Cambridge

John Brissenden, Branch Secretary, Bournemouth University UCU (personal capacity)

Professor Roger Brown, Liverpool Hope University

Dr Joseph Burridge, Sociology, University of Portsmouth

Dr Felicity Callard, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London,

Professor Claire Callender, Birkbeck and Institute of Education, University of London

Dr John R Campbell, Head of Department, Sociology & Anthropology, School of Oriental and African Studies

Mark Campbell, London Metropolitan University, UCU NEC (personal capacity)

Dr Fenella Cannell, Social Anthropology, LSE

Mark Carrigan, Doctoral Researcher, Sociology, University of Warwick, CPU

Professor Gerry Carruthers, University of Glasgow

Dr Dario Castiglione, University of Exeter

Dr Olga Castro, Translation Studies and Spanish, Aston University

Professor Nickie Charles, Director of the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender, Sociology, University of Warwick

Michael Chessum, NUS National Executive (personal capacity)

Dr Timothy Chesters, School of Modern Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Royal Holloway, University of London

Dr Andrew Chitty, Philosophy, University of Sussex

Dr Jean Chothia, Selwyn College, Faculty of English, University of Cambridge

Dr Tom Chothia, University of Birmingham, CACHE

Dr Mike Clark, Therapeutic and Molecular Immunology, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Professor Martin Cloonan, Music, School of Culture and Creative Arts, University of Glasgow

Dr Fabienne Collignon, University of Glasgow

Dr Philip Connell, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Daniel Conway, Politics, Loughborough University

Dr Timothy Cooper, University of Exeter

Professor Andrea Cornwall, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex

Professor Jane K Cowan, Anthropology, University of Sussex

Dr Ruth Craggs, St Mary's University College

Brandon Crimes, Tourism Management, Deputy International Recruitment Manager, Business School, University of Hertfordshire

Dr John Croft, Brunel University

Dr Justin Cruickshank, University of Birmingham

Dr Jan Culik, Czech Studies, University of Glasgow

Dr David Cunningham, English Literature, University of Westminster

Dr Wini Davies, Aberystwyth University

Dr Lucy Delap, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Mahmood Delkhasteh, Independent Researcher

Dr Ipek Demir, Sociology, University of Leicester

Dr Leigh Denault, Churchill College, Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Ana Cecilia Dinerstein, Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath

Professor Thomas Docherty, English and Comparative Literatures, University of Warwick, WUCHE

Dr Anneliese Dodds, Public Policy, Aston University

Professor Danny Dorling, Human Geography, University of Sheffield

Dr Giuseppina D'Oro, Philosophy, Keele University

Richard Drayton, FRHistS, Rhodes Professor of Imperial History, King's College London

Synne Laastad Dyvik, DPhil Student, International Relations, University of Sussex

Dr Nadia Edmond, Education, University of Brighton

Professor RJ (Dick) Ellis, American and Canadian Studies, University of Birmingham

Dr Ben Etherington, Research Fellow, English, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Karen Evans, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Liverpool, UCU NEC (personal capacity)

Dr Max Farrar, Emeritus Professor, Leeds Metropolitan University

Professor Theo Farrell, Vice Chair, British International Studies Association, King's College London

Dr Michael Farrelly, Open University, CPU

Professor Natalie Fenton, Media and Communications, Joint Head of Department, Goldsmiths College, University of London

Dr Christine Ferguson, School of Critical Studies, University of Glasgow

Professor Stephan Feuchtwang, Department of Anthropology, LSE

Dr Marianne Fillenz, Senior Research Fellow, St Anne's College Oxford

Professor Robert Fine, Sociology, University of Warwick, WUCHE

Dr Des Freedman, Media and Communications, Goldsmiths, University of London

Professor Maureen Freely, English and Comparative Literatures, University of Warwick, WUCHE

Rob French, Branch Treasurer, UCU, University of Sussex (personal capacity)

Dr Bernhard Fulda, Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, CACHE

Professor Mark Furse, Competition Law and Policy, University of Glasgow

Dr Ian Gadd, Bath Spa University

Dr Steve Garner, Sociology and Public Policy, Aston University

Dr Sue Garton, Aston University

Professor Nick Gay, Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Charlie Gere, Lancaster Institute for Contemporary Arts, Lancaster University

Prof Mark Georgeson, School of Life & Health Sciences, Aston University

Peter Ghosh, History, Fellow of St. Anne's College, University of Oxford

Professor Robert Gibbs, Art History, University of Glasgow

Professor Robert Gildea, FBA, Modern History, Fellow  of Worcester College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Professor Vincent Gillespie, JRR Tolkien Professor of English Literature and Language, Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, University of  Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Andrew Goffey, Media, Middlesex University

Professor Simon Goldhill, Cambridge University, CACHE

Dr Jane Goldman, English Literature, University of Glasgow

Dr Christina Goldschmidt, University of Oxford

Professor Heather Glen, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Martin Golding, Peterhouse, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Priyamvada Gopal, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Hugo Gorringe, Sociology, University of Edinburgh

Dr Norman Gray, SUPA School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Glasgow

Dr Marci Green, Course Leader, Sociology, University of Wolverhampton

Dr Claudia Gremler, German, Aston University

Dr Daniel JR Grey, Junior Research Fellow in World History, Wolfson College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Jen Grogan, PhD Student, University of Nottingham

Dr Jonathan Grove, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Stacey Gutkowski, Middle East and Mediterranean Studies, King's College London

Jo Halliday, PhD Student, Goldsmiths College, University of London

Dr James Hampshire, University of Sussex

Professor Jane Hardy, Political Economy, University of Hertfordshire

Dr Sophie Harman, International Politics, City University, Trustee of the British International Studies Association

Andy Harper, Goldsmiths, University of London

Professor Barbara Harriss-White, Director, Contemporary South Asia Studies Programme, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Richard Harris, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol

Dr Kate Haworth, Applied Linguistics, Aston University

Sarah Hayes, Learning Technologist, Aston University

Dr John Heathershaw, Politics, University of Exeter

Juliet Henderson, English Language and Communication, Oxford Brookes University

Dr Anita Herle, Senior Curator for Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, CACHE

Dr Naomi Hetherington, Birkbeck, University of London

Dr Lyndsay McLean Hilker, ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex

Dr Tracey Hill, Head of Department of English & Cultural Studies, Bath Spa University

Professor Robert Hinde, St. John's College, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Tamsin Hinton-Smith, Research Fellow in Sociology, University of Sussex

Professor Johannes Hoff, Philosophical Theology, Prof. Dr. Habil, DiplTheol, MA, TRIS Department, University of Wales Trinity St David

Dr Edward Holberton, Girton College, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Professor John Holford, Robert Peers Professor of Adult Education, University of Nottingham

Professor John Holmwood, AcSS, Sociology, University of Nottingham, CPU

Dr Hannah Holtschneider, Jewish Studies, University of Edinburgh

Dr Nick Hopwood, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Professor Howard Hotson, Early Modern Intellectual History, Fellow of St Anne's College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Muir Houston, FHEA, Social Justice, Place and Lifelong Education Research, University of Glasgow

Dr. Michael Hrebeniak, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Professor Maggie Humm, University of East London

Dr Emma Hunter, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Keith Hyams, University of Exeter

Dr Dan Jackson, The Media School, Bournemouth University

Dr Mark Jackson, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol

Professor Richard Jackson, International Politics, Aberystwyth University, Secretary, British International Studies Association

Professor Mary Jacobus, FBA, Professor Emerita, Churchill College, University of Cambridge, MH Abrams Distinguished Visiting Professor, Cornell University

Professor Simon Jarvis, Gorley Putt Professor of Poetry and Poetics, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Professor Patricia Jeffery, Sociology & Centre for South Asian Studies, University of Edinburgh

Professor Roger Jeffery, Sociology, and Dean International (India), University of Edinburgh

Dr Alana Jelinek, AHRC Fellow in the Creative and Performing Arts, Museum of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Juan J Jiménez-Anca, Spanish, Aston University

Professor Bob Jessop, Distinguished Professor of Sociology, University of Lancaster

Aylmer Johnson, Engineering, Clare College, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Brenda Johnston, Senior Research Fellow, Southampton Education School, University of Southampton

Professor Ron Johnston OBE FBA, School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol

Dr Bryn Jones, Sociology, Business & Community Programme, University of Bath

Dr Christopher Jones, Institute of Educational Technology, The Open University

Dr Eleanor Jupp, Health and Social Care, Open University

Dr Alexandre Kabla, Engineering, Cambridge University, CACHE

Anne-Sophie Kaloghiros, DPMMS, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Lauren Kassell, History & Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge

Ralph Kellas, Postgraduate Student, Sussex University

Dr Steve Kemp, Sociology, University of Edinburgh

Dr Christian Kerslake, Philosophy, Middlesex University

Professor Desmond King, FBA, Andrew W Mellon Professor of Government, Fellow of Nuffield College, University of Oxford

Dr Lawrence King, Sociology, University of Cambridge

Professor Richard E King, Religious Studies, University of Glasgow

Paul Kirby, LSE

Dr Vassiliki Kolocotroni, University of Glasgow

Professor Susanne Kord, German, School of European Languages, Culture and Society, UCL, OUCHE

Professor Peter Kornicki, Deputy Warden, Robinson College, Cambridge, CACHE

Professor James Ladyman, Head of Department, Philosophy, University of Bristol

Andrea Lagna, International Relations, University of Sussex

Gabriele Lamparter, PhD Student, University of Exeter

Richard Lane, DPhil Candidate, International Relations, University of Sussex

Joel Lazarus, University College, University of Oxford

Dr Yann Lebeau, University of East Anglia

Professor Dennis Leech, Economics, University of Warwick, WUCHE

Dave Legg, former student, Worcester College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Professor David Lewis, Social Policy, London School of Economics

Dr Conrad Leyser, History, Fellow of Worcester College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Eleni Liarou, Birkbeck College, University of London

Alison Light, Visiting Professor, Newcastle University, CACHE

Merle Lipton, Associate Fellow, Chatham House & Visiting Research Fellow, King's College, London

Dr Jo Littler, Media and Cultural Studies, Middlesex University

Dr Michael Loughlin, Applied Philosophy, Manchester Metropolitan University & Visiting Professor of Applied Philosophy, University of Buckingham

Dr Charlie Louth, Queen's College, University of Oxford

Dr Matthew Loveless, Comparative Politics, University of Kent

Dr Pam Lowe, Sociology, Aston University

Paddy Lyons, English Literature, University of Glasgow

Dr David McCallam, French Eighteenth-Century Studies, University of Sheffield, OUCHE

Dr William McEvoy, English, University of Sussex, SUDHE

Dr Cheryl McEwan, Durham University, CACHE

Dr Robert Macfarlane, Cambridge University Faculty of English, CACHE

Phil MacGregor, The Media School, Bournemouth University

Professor Patrick McGuinness, St Anne's College, Oxford (longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2011)

Professor Stephen McKay, School of Social Policy, University of Birmingham

Dr Iain MacKenzie, University of Kent

Dr Monica McLean, Higher Education, Principal Investigator, Pedagogic Quality and Inequality in University First Degrees (ESRC), University of Nottingham

Professor Gregor McLennan, Sociology, Director, Institute for Advanced Studies, University of Bristol

Dr Laura McMahon, Film, University of Aberdeen

Dr David McQueen, Media, Bournemouth University

Dr John McTague, English, University of Oxford

Dr Mary Madden, Wounds Group, Health Sciences, University of York

Marta Magalhães, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Jonathan Mair, Manchester University

Professor Willy Maley, English Literature, University of Glasgow 

Dr Suhail Malik, Art, Goldsmiths, University of London

Dr Victoria Margree, Humanities, University of Brighton

Dr Lee Marsden, Political, Social and International Studies, University of East Anglia

Professor Luke Martell, Sociology, University of Sussex

Dr Cheryl Martens, Media School, Bournemouth University

Dr Andy Martin, French, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Laura Martin, Comparative Literature, University of Glasgow

Richard Martin, Birkbeck, University of London

Herminio Martins, Emeritus Fellow, St Antony's College, University of Oxford, Honorary Research Fellow, Institute of Social Sciences, University of Lisbon, OUCHE

Dr Joanne Massey, Sociology, MMU

Dr Kamran Matin, University of Sussex

Dr Sinéad Garrigan Mattar, Girton College, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Emma Mawdsley, Cambridge University, CACHE

Professor Tim May, Director, Centre for Sustainable Urban and Regional Futures (SURF), University of Salford

Lucy Mayblin, Sociology, University of Warwick

Dr Saladin Meckled-Garcia, Political Science, University College London

Dr Shamira A Meghani , English, University of Leeds

Dr Leo Mellor, English, Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge

Jane Melvin, University of Brighton

Professor Hugh Miall, International Relations, University of Kent

Laura Miles, UCU NEC (personal capacity)

Professor Barbara A Misztal, Sociology, University of Leicester

Kevin Moloney, Media School, Bournemouth University

Professor David Mond, Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, WUCHE

Professor Philip Moriarty, Physics, University of Nottingham, EPSRC Leadership Fellow and Chair of the Nanoscale Physics and Technology Group of the Institute of Physics

Dr Nathalie Mrgudović, School of Languages and Social Sciences, Aston University

Dr Subha Mukherji, English, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Jane Mulderrig, Applied Linguistics, University of Sheffield 

Dr Kathryn Murphy, English, Fellow of Oriel College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Simon Murray, Theatre Studies, University of Glasgow

Trevor Murrells, Statistician, Research Data Manager, National Nursing Research Unit, Florence Nightingale School of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London

Dr Karma Nabulsi, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations,  Fellow of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Daniel Neep, Politics, University of Exeter

Professor Simon Newman, Brogan Professor of American History, University of Glasgow

Dr Jane Nolan, Sociology, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Professor David Norbrook, Merton Professor of Renaissance English Literature, Fellow of Merton College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Professor Michael Northcott, New College, University of Edinburgh

Grainne O'Connell, University of Sussex

Kathleen O'Donnell, Imaging the University, Architectural and Urban Studies, University of Brighton

Kirsty Ogg, Art, Goldsmiths, University of London

Dr Daniel Orrells, Classics and Ancient History, University of Warwick

Professor William Outhwaite, Sociology, Newcastle University

Dr Patricia Owens, University of Sussex

Damien Page, Principal Lecturer, University of Greenwich

Professor Joe Painter, Head of Department, Geography, Durham University

Maïa Pal, DPhil Candidate, International Relations, University of Sussex

Chrysi Papaioannou, Administrator, King's College London, and Postgraduate Research Student, University of Leeds

Professor Inderjeet Parmar, Government, University of Manchester, Chair of the British International Studies Association Board of Trustees

Dr John Parrington, Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Fellow of Worcester College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Ian Patterson, Queens' College, University of Cambridge, CACHE 

Professor David Pattie, University of Chester

Jennifer Peet, Doctoral Researcher, Sociology, University of Edinburgh

Jethro Pettit, Research Fellow, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex

Professor Kees van der Pijl, International Relations, University of Sussex

Dr James Pope, Media School, Bournemouth University

Dr Alison Phipps, Director of Gender Studies, University of Sussex, FWSA

Professor Malcolm JW Povey, FInstP, CEng, Food Physics, University of Leeds, UCU NEC Member (personal capacity)

Dr Line Nyhagen Predelli, Social Sciences, Loughborough University

JH Prynne, Cambridge University, CACHE

Dr Dinah Rajak, Anthropology and Development, University of Sussex

Dr Deana Rankin, English and Drama, Royal Holloway, University of London

Professor Keith Reader, Emeritus Professor of French, University of Glasgow

Professor Ian Reader, Japanese Studies, University of Manchester

Professor Diane Reay, Faculty of Education, University of Cambridge

Dr Madeleine Reeves, RCUK Research Fellow, University of Manchester

Dr Nicky Reeves, University of Cambridge

Michael Rice, PhD, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Charlotte Lydia Riley, PhD Student, UCL

Aurélia Robert, French, Aston University

Professor Ian Roberts, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Professor Eve Rosenhaft, German Historical Studies, University of Liverpool

Dr Enzo Rossi, Research Fellow, Social Ethics Research Group (SERG), University of Wales

Dr Julia Round, The Media School, Bournemouth University

Dr Srila Roy, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham, FWSA

Dr Lucia Ruprecht, Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Professor Jonathan Rutherford, Professor of Cultural Studies, Middlesex University

Dr Christopher Ryan, Philosophy, London Metropolitan University

Dr John Sabapathy, Medieval History, University College London

Dr Duna Sabri, Visiting Research Fellow, Education and Professional Studies, King's College London

Dr Tony Sampson, University of East London

David Sancho, DPhil Candidate, University of Sussex

Professor Andrew Sayer, Social Theory and Political Economy, Lancaster University

Dr Andrew Schaap, Politics, University of Exeter

Dr Marie Isabel Schlinzig, Leverhulme Early Career Fellow, Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, University of Oxford

Professor Justine Schneider, Mental Health & Social Care, University of Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Dr Franziska Schroeder, School of Creative Arts, Queen's University Belfast

Dr Gregory Schwartz, School of Management, University of Bath

Dr Jason Scott-Warren, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Andrew Shail, Film, Newcastle University, FWSA

Professor Martin Shepperd, Brunel University, CACHE

Dr Robbie Shilliam, Queen Mary and Westfield, University of London

Professor John T Sidel, Sir Patrick Gillam Professor of International and Comparative Politics, London School of Economics and Political Science

Professor Barry Smart, Sociology, University of Portsmouth

Dr Alexander Smith, Sociology, University of Huddersfield

Professor Lorraine N Smith, Nursing, University of Glasgow

Dr Ewen Speed, University of Essex

Dr James Sprittles, Research Fellow, University of Birmingham

Professor Fiona Stafford, English Language and Literature, Fellow of Somerville College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Anna Stavrianakis, International Relations, University of Sussex

Professor Deborah Lynn Steinberg, Sociology, University of Warwick

Dr Adam Stewart-Wallace, St John's College, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Laurie Stras, Faculty of Humanities, University of Southampton

Professor Lucy Suchman, Anthropology of Science and Technology, Co-Director, Centre for Science Studies, Sociology, Lancaster University 

Bernard Sufrin, Emeritus Fellow of Worcester College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Judith Suissa, Institute of Education, London

Dr Jill Steans, POLSIS, University of Birmingham

Dr Susan AJ Stuart, University of Glasgow

Dr Carole Sweeney, English and Comparative Literature, Goldsmiths, University of London

Dr Bronislaw Szerszynski, Sociology, Lancaster University

Professor Oliver Taplin, FBA, Emeritus Professor of Classical Languages and Literature, Fellow of Magdalen College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Trudi Tate, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Benno Teschke, International Relations, University of Sussex

Dr Helen Thaventhiran, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Deborah Thom, History, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Pamela Thurschwell, English, University of Sussex, CACHE

Dr Rowan Tomlinson, French, Bristol University, OUCHE

Professor David Trotter, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Kate Tunstall, French, Fellow of Worcester College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Ed Turner, Politics, Aston University

Professor John Urry, Distinguished Professor, Sociology, Lancaster University

Isobel Urquhart, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Rosa Vasilaki, University of Bristol

Dr Bert Vaux, Phonology & Morphology, University of Cambridge, Fellow in Linguistics, King's College, CACHE

Dr Vincenzo Vergiani, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Professor Alain Viala, French Literature, Fellow of Lady Margaret Hall, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Keith Walker, Education, Manchester Metropolitan University

Sean Wallis, Senior Research Fellow, Survey of English Usage, UCL, Branch Secretary UCL UCU

Dr Caroline Warman, French, Fellow of Jesus College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Christopher Warnes, Faculty of English, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Sam Waterman, Postgraduate Student, University of Sussex

Dr Peggy Watson, Sociology, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Professor Alan Weir, Philosophy, University of Glasgow

Dr Karen West, Public Policy and Sociology, Aston University

Professor John White, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy of Education, Institute of Education, University of London

Patricia White, Research Fellow in Philosophy of Education, Institute of Education, University of London

Dr Mark Wilkinson, Royal Society University Research Fellow, Physics and Astronomy, University of Leicester

Gavin Williams, Emeritus Fellow, St Peter's College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Hannah Williams, Junior Research Fellow, History of Art, St John's College, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Wes Williams, French, Fellow of St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford, OUCHE

Dr Edward Wilson-Lee, Sidney Sussex College, University of Cambridge, CACHE

Dr Stuart C Wimbush, Physics and Chemistry, University of Cambridge

Dr Aaron Winter, Sociology, University of Abertay Dundee

Dr Jim Wolfreys, French and European Politics, King's College London

Howard Wollman, Honorary Fellow, School of Social & Political Science, University of Edinburgh and Vice Chair, British Sociological Association (personal capacity)

Peter Woodward, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London

Dr Jens-Uwe Wunderlich, International Relations, Aston University

Professor Brian Wynne, Sociology, Co-PI, UK ESRC Centre for Economic and Social Aspects of Genomics, Cesagen, and Professor of Science Studies, Lancaster University

John Yandell, Local UCU Branch President, Institute of Education.

Academics draw up an 'alternative white paper' for universities

Delighted to be back at my desk this morning, and hugely grateful to Cribsheet's many guest editors who rallied round in my absence to make sure you received your daily dose of education news.

Four hundred academics have been working on an "alternative white paper" on higher education, and today the Guardian reveals it - exclusively. The document (here it is in full) is highly critical of the "ideological" way the government is turning students into consumers, and education into an investment, with profit to be made in the form of higher earnings.

Cambridge professor Simon Szreter, who helped draw up the alternative vision, says:

"The hope would be that it provides a well-formulated agenda on the future of higher education, in contrast to the one the government has railroaded through. It is a counter to the breathtaking speed of the government programme and its reliance on an atrociously flimsy document, the Browne review."

Three of the signatories have agreed to answer your questions in a live chat this afternoon, so please do join in - it promises to be a fascinating discussion.

More education news from the Guardian

• Universities should adjust their grade targets for A-level students from poorly performing schools, says Neil Stringer of the AQA exam board. Results at St George's medical school indicate that students who get lower grades in more challenging schools do just as well as those who get the highest marks at top schools.

• New teachers are struggling to find jobs, Dorothy Lepkowska (@DotLepkowska) reports:

"Newly qualified teachers entered the employment market this year having paid annual tuition fees of £3,375 - set to rise to up to £9,000 next year - to find approximately 40% fewer full-time jobs available."

So whose fault is it if colleges are producing too many graduates for schools to accomodate?

• Labour's pledge to lower the cap on tuition fees to £6,000 would benefit the richest graduates most, according to the CentreForum thinktank. It argues that the biggest gains from Labour leader Ed Miliband's proposal would go to the top 20% highest earning graduates, those with lifetime earnings of £2m. Meanwhile "blue Labour" peer Maurice Glasman says an axe ought to be taken to universities - half should be turned into vocational colleges, he says.

Education news from around the web

• Is Manchester the worst Russell Group university? That's the question posed by the student newspaper the Mancunian, which bases its story on the Guardian University Guide:

"Student satisfaction at the University of Manchester is the lowest of all the Russell Group universities.

The Guardian university league table ranks UK universities 'according to teaching excellence' and resources rather than research performance. Manchester University is 41st with an overall student satisfaction rating of 80%. The Guardian gives Manchester University a score of 61.4 out of 100. Oxford and Cambridge scored 97.9 and 100 respectively."

(Thanks to the student newspaper aggregation site onestowatchmedia.com, which tweets as @ones_to_watch.)

• Ofqual has launched a consultation on plans to reform GCSEs, putting greater emphasis on spelling and grammar. Have your say before November 4.

• Harvard University has consolidated its position as the richest university in the world, the BBC reports, with the value of its endowment rising by 20% to £20.7bn.

• Princess Anne was interrupted by chanting students as she tried to make her first speech as chancellor of Edinburgh University yesterday, according to the Telegraph.

• Scottish teaching unions have attacked a controversial report that suggests Scottish teachers work fewer hours and are better paid than English staff, says Teacher Support Scotland.

• German students can now do a master's degree in sausages, the Huffington Post claims.

• The Local Schools Network (@localschools_UK) is running a heartfelt blog from a mother who lives in my neck of the woods and whose child has been told there is no school place for her in the borough. Haringey Council has advised Christine Phillips to home educate.

Education seminars from Guardian Professional

The Guardian Teacher Network runs training sessions for teachers throughout the year in Yorkshire and London. Upcoming courses include:

Is your school thinking of becoming an academy?

This seminar will provide an independent view of the advantages and disadvantages of converting to academy status. It will look at the process of conversion, the implications of academy status, and the support and funding available. November 30, in London. February 21, 2012 in Yorkshire

Protecting young people in a digital age

Led by school digital safety experts, this one-day course will provide safeguarding policy and Ofsted criteria updates, as well as looking at social media and offering practical advice to help your school develop its digital safety policies. February 1, 2012 in London. February 8, 2012 in Yorkshire.

For a full list visit the Guardian Teacher Network

Teachers seminars from the Guardian Education Centre

Reading for pleasure – bringing classics to life

This half-day conference for secondary school teachers will explore the use and teaching of classic books from Dickens and beyond. Keynote speakers will be Simon Callow, actor and Dickens enthusiast and Judy Golding, daughter of William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies.

20 October, London

Insight into digital journalism

Spend a day at the Guardian and find out how an international news media organisation works. The seminar will focus on aspects of digital journalism including writing and editing for a news website, the relationship between print and web journalism, live blogging, the use of social media, podcasting and video production.

2 November, Kings Place, London

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The New Lights award combines a tribute to excellence with hard-headed business advice

It's a good time to be an artist in the north of the UK, and that's not just because of all the hoo-ha currently surrounding our favourite son, David Hockney.

Excitement is gathering pace over his coming takeover of the Royal Academy, with smaller 'trailer' exhibitions already open in Saltaire – where his friend Jonathan Silver amassed the largest Hockney collection in the world – and at Bradford's excellent art gallery in Cartwright Hall.

The £21,000 Northern Art Prize is also heading through the preliminary heats in advance of its annual shindig in January – next year's will be the fifth; but here's the thing. There's now a second major art prize for northern artists, and it has just announced its first winner.

He is Nat Quinn, seen above with his winning entry for the New Lights Art Prize which has earned him £10,000 and professional guidance and mentoring from an established professional artists, Emerson Mayes.

There is something appealing practical (and in my own opinion therefore northern) about this initiative; as well as acknowledging fine art, it wants to encourage fine artists to find ways to make a living, rather than inhabiting garrets in a soulful but financially unrewarding fashion.

The artistic standards of the new prize seem safe if future judging panels are the equivalent of this year's: Kate Brindley, Director of Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (mima) and a National Advisor for the Paul Hamlyn Foundation Art Funding Programme; Paul Hobson, Director of the Contemporary Art Society and the artist William Tillyer. They attracted … entrants, shortlisted down to these 24 listed at the foot of this post.

The prize is open to artists aged between 23 and 35 who either live in the north or have graduated from universities here. Named this year after its main sponsor Valeria Sykes, it aims to discover 'potential to succeed' as well as current excellence. Sykes has made an additional £2,500 award to Francesca Hudson from Newcastle.

Quinn's very grateful, naturally, and says:

I'm absolutely delighted and somewhat overwhelmed. Not just the £10,000 but the business mentoring will undoubtedly help my career as a professional artist.

Here's what the judges said about his work, first Paul Hobson:

Nat Quinn's delicate and ambiguous abstract paintings take as much from other media - like drawing and ceramics - as they do from the history of painting. A very worthy recipient in a talented selection. Paul Hobson, Director of the Contemporary Art Society.

William Tillyer:

Nat Quinn is showing a way to confront painting with a relevance to our inner lives; which in the political and economic climate of today, remains vital.

Annette Petchey, chief executive of New Lights, praises the " diverse range of paintings being produced by young artists across the region" and reminds us that all work is for sale – another sound northern touch.

The prize exhibition is at Harrogate's Mercer art gallery until 8 January 2012. Cut along there. It's nicely convenient for the Valley Gardens and no end of cafes and pubs.

Here is the full shortlist of entrants, all represented in the exhibition:

Naomi Wrigglesworth Leeds
Nat Quinn Darlington
Lisa Robinson Wakefield
Monica Metsers Kendal
Sean Penlington Manchester
Matthew Child Warrington
Julian Mably Conisbrough
Matthew Thompson Huddershield
Cecilia Stenbom Gateshead
Freya Horsley York
Sally Taylor York
Hayley Harrison London
William Bradley Richmond
Thomas Rimmington York
Karl De Vroomen Gateshead
Mike Pratt Newcastle
Matt Spencer Carnforth
Holly Major Scarborough
Ally Morton Newcastle
Francesca Hudson Newcastle
Lyndsey Jameson Darlington
Michael Lawton London
Jamie Taylor London
Alexander Charrington Newcastle

Shadow education secretary urges 'common programme of study' with focus on preparing children for flexible working lives

A "modern baccalaureate" with a focus on preparing children for leadership and flexible working lives should be at the heart of 21st century schooling, the shadow education secretary, Andy Burnham, will tell the Labour conference on Wednesday.

The idea will be presented as an alternative to the education secretary Michael Gove's English baccalaureate, which recognises pupils who achieve good GCSE passes in English, maths, a science, a language and geography or history.

Burnham will highlight the example of a school in Hull whose headteacher is piloting a new award for pupils who gain passes in eight GCSE subjects including English, maths, science and information and communications technology (ICT).

Known as the ModBac, it includes an honours programme that also requires students to carry out activities that display enterprise, such as the Duke of Edinburgh's award.

Burnham said: "It's indefensible that Latin is promoted above ICT, engineering, business studies or economics in the English bacc. It's indefensible that creative subjects don't feature.

"The English bacc is right for some, but not for all."

He will call for a "common programme of study" for all young people that is ambitious in the basic subjects of English and maths.

"We [need to] give young people the qualities they need to succeed in this century: communication skills, leadership skills, the ability to be resourceful, adaptable, because they're going to have 10 to 15 jobs in a way that their parents or grandparents never did," he will tell the conference.

"Beyond the core they can actually add to that things that are interested in, motivate them – things they have a talent for."

Andrew Chubb, the head of Archbishop Sentamu Academy in Hull, who has devised the ModBac, will speak at Labour's conference session on education. Chubb has called on other heads to take part in a pilot programme and is proposing to launch the scheme more widely next September.

Unlike the English bacc, which rewards passes at A* to C, the ModBac also recognises pupils with lower grades who receive a "foundation" level award.

Burnham said: "He [Chubb] has decided the Ebacc is damaging the life chances of children in his school, [he's] leading grassroots rejection of it. We are going to work with professionals and support people who want an alternative to the Gove agenda.

"I'm not highlighting it to say it's perfect. The principle is an important one – it's about a unified programme of study for all young people, [that] stretches the brightest but allows people to add things to a common core that are relevant to them."

The government introduced the English bacc in order to tackle a decline in the take-up of academic subjects, which was accompanied by a boom in vocational qualifications, many of which are not valued by employers.

The coalition argues that the decline in the opportunity to study subjects such as French or history disproportionately affects pupils who attend schools in deprived areas.

In his speech, Burnham will also call for a Ucas-style applications system for apprenticeships to offer the same clarity as the route to universities.

He said of his proposal: "It raises the profile, because people would be able to see what's available and what the entry requirements are for those courses; they could find out beyond their own locality what's available.

"We've got to encourage young people to apply in the same way as we do for university. It gives them a goal in life, something to work for as they are going through school, and that is sorely lacking at the moment."

Exam board suggested awarding bonus points to students from low-performing schools who achieve top grades

Politicians and universities have condemned a proposal to rank every A-level student in the country and award bonus points to those from low-performing schools who achieve top grades.

Britain's biggest exam board, the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), is floating the idea at the party conferences, arguing that it would help universities identify bright pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Neil Stringer, author of the proposal and a senior research associate at the exam board's Centre for Education Research and Policy, suggests students should be awarded an exam score based on their three best A-level grades, then put into different performance bands.

Those who attend weak schools, but perform highly would be awarded extra points, while those who perform well at top public schools would have points subtracted. All pupils would then be ranked based on their final scores.

The proposal, contained in a discussion paper, has elicited strong criticism within education circles and from all sides of the political spectrum.

Nick Gibb, the schools minister, said the main way to guarantee universities took a wider range of students was to improve schools and ensure that "more young people achieve good grades in the right subjects – regardless of background".

He said the proposal risked confusing employers, teachers and pupils by giving different values to the same A-levels and warned that it would undermine the integrity of exams.

Andy Burnham, Labour's shadow education secretary, said rather than adopt AQA's idea, schools should do "a little more to raise aspiration", and universities that interview candidates should consider the culture of an interview process which "often replicates the atmosphere of private schools."

The Russell Group, which represents Oxford, Cambridge and eight other leading universities, described the exam board's proposal as "crude and highly unlikely to help widen access".

Wendy Piatt, director general of the Russell Group, said admissions tutors already considered students' academic achievements within a broader context: "Our universities often use personal statements, references, additional tests and interviews, as well as taking into account any particular barriers – such as spending time in care – that candidates have faced."

She said that AQA's overly simplistic ranking system was at odds with this holistic approach. "No single measure of educational context could fairly rank all applicants, and we would warn against such crude approaches. Social and economic disadvantage are complex problems that are difficult to measure reliably, especially at the level of individual applicants."

Million+, which represents universities formed after 1992, said many of its institutions had already developed systems that took into account applicants' backgrounds, thereby enabling them to identify talented students from less advantaged homes.

Professor Malcolm Gillies, vice-chancellor of London Metropolitan University, said the proposals failed because it was the "individual students" who were admitted to university and who gained the grades, not the schools. "If there is any hint that grades are socially moderated in any way their value will be diminished," he said. "Universities need to see the naked grades."

Toni Pearce, the National Union of Students' vice-president for further education said that the proposal amounted to "merely a sticking plaster".

"We should not lose sight of the overriding need to improve educational standards across the board," she said.

Stringer told the Independent that he had been influenced by St George's medical school, which is part of the University of London. It gives a lower offer to students whose performance is at least 60% better than the average for their school.

"This strongly suggests that students admitted through the adjusted-criteria scheme learned enough at A-level and are able-enough learners to compete successfully with students who achieved higher A-level grades under more favourable circumstances," he said.

This summer, universities had to set out how they would widen their pool of students if they want to charge more than £6,000 a year from next year.

Every institution was forced to adopt an "access agreement" approved by the Office for Fair Access watchdog. The access agreements will be reviewed each year, with institutions that fail to meet their agreed targets on recruitment and retention facing fines or losing the right to charge more than £6,000.

Peter Crampton, who has died aged 79, was a peace campaigner whose tranquil demeanour masked a ferocious commitment to the cause. During a long career in education and politics, he became closely associated with the leading proponents of nuclear disarmament, including EP Thompson and Ken Coates.

Although he retired from professional politics in 1999, having spent 10 years as Labour MEP for Humberside, he remained active until the end of his life, deeply involved in the movements against war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Like many of his generation, he had been hostile to the EU during the 1970s, but less so in the light of what he saw as Margaret Thatcher's deleterious effect on Britain in the next decade. In 1995, he was one of the 32 European members who became a thorn in Tony Blair's flesh by placing an advertisement in the British press opposing the new Labour leader's plans to rewrite clause IV of the party's constitution.

Born in Blackpool, Peter followed his father into teaching, moving to Hull in the early 1970s to take up a lectureship in geography at the city's College of Education. His previous teaching post had been in Uganda, where he and his wife Margaret spent three years. The two of them had met as students at Nottingham University. She shared his pursuits, becoming a geography teacher and subsequently a member of Humberside county council and Hull city council.

Just as geography made an internationalist of him, so the northern Methodist tradition informed his socialism. Much of his energy was devoted to human rights issues; in Hull and Grimsby, this took the form of dogged campaigning for compensation for the trawlermen, traditionally employed as casual labour, who lost their livelihoods with the collapse of the fishing industry. His own first job had been ploughing his uncle's fields with a horse, and he never stopped championing the rights of the region's farmers.

"Peter Crampton was an unsung hero of the cold war," said the former CND chairman Bruce Kent. "A member of the European Nuclear Disarmament movement, he helped build private bridges between citizens of east and west. An optimist always, his cheery smile helped us turn many a difficult corner."

Peter is survived by Margaret, their sons, David, a solicitor, and Robert, a journalist(and former colleague of mine), and four grandchildren.

Happy Days star Henry Winkler is thrilled with his OBE for raising awareness of childhood learning difficulties. But whatever else he does, he is for ever The Fonz. Ayyyyyyy!

I'm crunching my way up the gravel driveway to Henry Winkler's Brentwood home. It's a mansion disguised as a suburban California rambler, a gracious sprawl encompassing a touch of whimsy: a life-size statue of a cow hunkered down in the shrubbery. I'm here to meet the Happy Days icon – the once and for ever Fonz – on the festive week of his being made an honorary OBE by Her Majesty the Queen.

I feel as if I'm in a surreal sitcom of my own when a simple press of the buzzer cues an entrance worthy of 70s-style canned applause: it's Winkler himself, whooshing open the front door with the charged enthusiasm of a long-lost buddy. I'm disarmed by how excited he is to see me, a complete stranger. In warmth and twinkle he has no equal.

"What can I get you?" he asks in his muted, old-school New York accent as we cross downstage – I mean, enter the foyer. "Do you want tea? Water? A sandwich?" Next he'll be asking me if I want to play croquet. "We have croquet," he offers. Winkler's wearing a pale green gingham shirt with light wash jeans and clog-like footwear. As he awaits my pleasure, I study his happy smile, his animated hazel eyes, and an unexpected thought surprises me: this 65-year-old is still a handsome dude!

At my request for water, he fetches a tall glass of the stuff with crushed ice and a slice of lemon. When my coaster slips to the floor, he deftly darts to scoop it up. Later, when I inadvertently move my hand behind me on my chair, he notices and asks solicitously: "Do you need a pillow? You feel good?" The man would make an excellent gigolo.

After his urgently friendly labradoodle twice knocks over my digital recorder, we settle into the luxurious homeyness of the Winkler family front room as he elaborates on his OBE thrill. "I got a letter from the [British] consulate here in LA, and it said: 'The Queen has graciously agreed to confer on you the Order of the British Empire.'"

Winkler's speaking voice is a hushed fog, with the measured cadence of a natural storyteller. It's both soothing and sinister, and despite his many comedic roles from Happy Days to current cult favourites Arrested Development and Childrens Hospital, I find myself daydreaming about what kind of villain he'd make on Dexter. With ever-building drama, the hushed fog rolls on, detailing Winkler's humorous incredulity at his honour: "I heard 'the Queen', I heard 'an award', I said: 'Let me think for a min – OK fine! I accept!'"

I'm wondering if Winkler can work his way up to knighthood if he performs enough chivalrous deeds, or if his OBE might harbour hidden obligations: a call to arms at some unforeseen flare-up of the Crusades, for instance.

"I'm not sure that I should be given a jousting ... you know ... tool." But surely Sir Elton [John] and Sir Paul [McCartney] would be willing to don armour and mount steeds for queen and country? "I can see Elton – now – in a suit of armour with his helmet and his nose guard. And the glasses on the outside. Built out of the same metal." Winkler's struck by a sudden thought. "I should show you my medal!" Striding purposefully towards the stairs to track it down, he jokes: "It makes me walk differently."

Winkler was awarded the OBE for his passionate work spreading awareness of childhood learning difficulties. His educational efforts include his successful Hank Zipzer ("The World's Greatest Underachiever") children's book series, based on his own early struggles with dyslexia and the attendant bullying from other kids and teachers. Even his German-born parents got in on the heckling, calling him dummer Hund (dumb dog) "often enough for it not to be funny", Winkler has said.

After a worryingly long stretch of rummaging, Winkler returns with the medal: a gold cross on a red ribbon nestled in its presentation box. "Isn't that pretty?" he murmurs softly as I admire it. His pride is palpable.

It wasn't until he was 31, when his stepson was tested for dyslexia, that Winkler was able to put a name to the condition responsible for a lifetime of shame. "My inside feeling and people's feeling [about me] on the outside, I could never reconcile." The hushed fog heats to a fevered whisper as he reenacts his old demons. "I thought to myself, 'I don't want to be stupid. I don't think I'm stupid. You say I'm stupid? Maybe I'm stupid. I must be stupid.' And that solidifies like cement around your self-image. It took a while for me to get over the anger. Why did we have all these arguments, all these punishments – from parents, from the school? All for nothing. It's still embarrassing."

It's interesting that the Fonz was so confident, I say.

"He was everything I wanted to be."

Because you came from a background, I continue, and Winkler jumps in, "... where inside, I was literally raspberry jelly." He cups his hands together and quivers them, cradling his raspberry-jelly self.

Didn't the reading problem put a crimp in his becoming an actor? "It does! I would read the script, memorise as much as I possibly could, and improvise the rest. And then I would be called out for not doing it the way it was written. And I would say, I'm just giving you a taste of the character. And if I get it, I'll do it verbatim. But right now, I'm just giving you the flavour. Options."

The idiom "jumping the shark", referring to the naff overreaching of a formerly respectable endeavour, originated halfway through Happy Days' 10-year run when Fonzie bravely accepted a preposterous challenge to waterski over a corralled shark.

"[People ask] how does it feel being the genesis of the pop culture phrase that has defined – for all time – failure?" He pauses, then answers drily: "I wanna say ... proud?" Well sure, you've got to be proud, I tell him. It's like being the original Alec of "smart Alec" fame. Winkler visibly brightens at what seems to be a way of turning lemons into lemonade. "Yeah, that's right! I never had that thought in my entire life!" Hey, I just made The Fonz feel extra proud of jumping the shark. Ayyyyyyy!

Who does he think is the Fonz of today? The question fires him up. "You know who I think that is? Ryan Gosling has that in him. He's funny, he is intense, he is crazy, he is romantic, he is desperate, he is great." I didn't expect that, I tell him. I was thinking along the lines of Eminem. Winkler gasps. "I love Eminem. His new album Recovery, I think that might be a little bit of brilliant genius. He is out in orbit. And I have a connection with him."

Oddly, a voicemail message left by Winkler's daughter Zoe appeared on Eminem's first release, The Slim Shady LP, on a track called Bitch. The then-teenager can be heard trashing the rapper in a dissipated Hollywood drawl: " This is the most disgusting thing I have ever heard ... I'm now nauseous and I can't eat lunch."

"And Eminem called her up, gave her $300 to buy the rights," Winkler continues. "She forgot to talk to me before she made the deal, but anyway ..."

Even after a distinguished 40-year career as an television and movie actor and producer, Winkler is overwhelmingly beloved for his most enduring creation, Fonzie. "I'm stopped on the street, I'm invited for dinner, I'm hugged, by every age. I'm never treated other than [as] a friend. I'm never challenged on the street to see how tough I am. People are unbelievably warm to me, no matter where I am."

The most unusual place he's been recognised? "[A man] pulling open the stall while I was going to the bathroom in a hotel in Hawaii. That was over the limit. He said: 'Look, I'm never gonna get this chance again.' I said: 'Is it possible we could talk a little later? This is ... awkward.' But he just stayed there. I asked him to go to stand in the corner, facing the wall."

It seems that even for an icon as gracious as Henry Winkler, there is a limit to his hospitality, so I say my grateful goodbyes and make an exit. As I crunch down the gravel driveway past the cow statue, I realise I've left my jacket in the house. I crunch back to the front door where Winkler awaits, my blazer in his hand.

A psychologist might say this means I don't really want to leave, I tell him. He responds affably: "Well, you're always welcome."

Waving, I call over my shoulder: "OK, I'll see you tonight."

"We're having salmon," he calls back.

• Henry Winkler is touring the UK from 15-23 October for a series of school visits and public appearances as part of his dyslexia tour, My Way!, with children's newspaper First News

Thespians always in need of the limelight, and the funding it can bring, find an unexpected ally in a crime writer with a penchant for careful research. Emeritus Guardian colleague David Ward tells the story.

TheTheatre by the Lake in Keswick, once internationally famous as the travelling Blue Box, has a walk-on role in the latest Lake District mystery novel by writer Martin Edwards.

The Hanging Wood, featuring Cumbria Police detective Hannah Scarlett and Daniel Kind, a historian with a nose for crime, is set in and around Keswick and the villain comes to a particularly nasty end on a farm five minutes from the town.

Towards the end of the book, as the plot is thickening nicely, Scarlett and Kind stroll down to Hope Park. "In front of them lay the slate and roughcast stone exterior of the Theatre by the Lake, blending in with landscape so that it looked as though it had been part of the scenery for ever, not just for ten years."

The couple hire a rowing boat on Derwentwater and Scarlett points out Cat Bells, Castlerigg Fell and St Herbert's Island. They then adjourn for lunch at Theatre by the Lake's "light and airy" café: "Hannah savoured a mouthful of her open sandwich: smoked Borrowdale trout with lemon and dill dressing."
They decide to return to the theatre that evening for dinner and then to see a performance of Joe Orton's What The Butler Saw, one of the most popular productions of Theatre by the Lake's 2010 summer season.

Edwards researches his locations thoroughly and last year spent some time in the northern Lakes as he prepared to write The Hanging Wood.
He wrote in his blog in July 2010: "A highlight of my trip to the Lake District was a backstage tour of a truly fascinating place, the Theatre by the Lake at Keswick. There can be few theatres anywhere in the world that enjoy a lovelier setting, overlooking Derwentwater, and the building – opened eleven years ago - has been very sympathetically integrated into the landscape."

Edwards explains that Theatre by the Lake's Marketing Officer Rachel Swift gave him an "enthralling tour" of the building. He acknowledges Swift's help in a note at the end of the book.

"Over the years, I've been lucky enough to look behind the scenes at many remarkable places, including Wembley, Harrods, Chester Zoo and Liverpool's Conservation Centre, and this was another memorable outing. Because the theatre is such a modern place, it's not at all like something out of Phantom of the Opera. Nevertheless, the atmosphere of the props room (which among many other artefacts boasted a fake skeleton) was compelling. Could it be a scene for an incident in a mystery novel? Very possibly...."

The Hanging Wood was published exactly a year later and reveals that Edwards soaked up the atmosphere of Keswick and district. Before Scarlett and Kind go for their boat trip on the lake, they meet on a Saturday morning in the town's Market Square. "[It] was crammed with bargain hunters, swarming round stalls that sold pies and paintings, clothes and crafts, and pretty much everything else you could wish for. Traders' raucous cries punctuated the hum of a hundred conversations, smells from the fishmonger's wafted through the warm air, mixing with those of home-made preserves and pungent cheeses."

At one point, Scarlett look back to the Cumbria floods of 2009 and their impact on Keswick: "Scaffolding still shrouded houses along the riverside and flood defences were still being built in an attempt to make the buildings safe in case the waters ever swelled again."

Edwards's characters are not always entirely complimentary about the county where they live and work. One of Scarlett's colleagues comments: "It may look pretty but the beauty is only skin-deep. There's more poverty in Cumbria than in most urban areas. And fewer places to shelter from the rain. What's so good about it?"

Edwards has added to the Keswick landscape the fictional St Herbert's residential library, where Kind is writing his study of Thomas de Quincey's influence on the history of murder. St Herbert's is based on St Deiniol's library, 130 miles away in Hawarden, north Wales. The author also invented the caravan park and farm where much of the action takes place are also his inventions, which was probably a wise move considering the events that go on there.

Edwards is now at work on his next Lake District mystery. "The theatre will feature more prominently this time, though probably not as a crime scene," he said. "There will be two actor characters and I've been given some background by an old friend who has performed at the theatre in the past."

As for the theatre: We are delighted that Martin enjoyed his visit and glad to hear that the theatre will feature again in his next book. We are now speculating about locations, methods and victims in case he wants to stage a murder within the building for the book after next...

David Ward built up amassive archive as a Guardian writer. His consultancy includes work for the Theatre by the Lake.

Andy's modbacc roars into Labour party conference

Rev up your scooter and dust off your Who records, the modbacc is coming to town. Andy Burnham has conjured up a shiny new challenge to Michael Gove's ebacc, featuring an array of subjects rather than an elite few. He's expected to attack the ebacc at the Labour party conference later today:

"It's indefensible that Latin is promoted above ICT, engineering, business studies or economics in the English bacc. It's indefensible that creative subjects don't feature."

But can Burnham come up with something coherent enough to win over frustrated teachers, or does the modbacc look a trifle too much like style over content?

More education news from the Guardian

• AQA's suggestion that high-performing students from weak schools be given bonus points at A-level to help them get places at the best universities has come under fire, unsurprisingly, from those very universities. The exam board's Neil Stringer (@neilstringer) believes his idea would help universities identify the brightest pupils. But here's the Russell Group's Wendy Piatt:

"No single measure of educational context could fairly rank all applicants, and we would warn against such crude approaches. Social and economic disadvantage are complex problems that are difficult to measure reliably, especially at the level of individual applicants."

• A fascinating live chat took place yesterday afternoon with three academics - Howard Hotson, John Holmwood and Danny Dorling - who are part of a group promoting an "alternative white paper" on higher education. Do take a look - the standard of debate is impressive.

Education news from around the web

• Back to the AQA debate, which has been exercising minds this morning. You may like to look at the actual document before taking a view yourself - it's here on a pdf.

Michael Gove has written a response in the Mail that has got right up Twitter's nose:

"The deluded notion that background matters more than ability is still alive, well and undermining excellence in the cloistered seminar rooms of the leftwing education establishment.

How else to explain the bizarre idea which has emanated from one of our examination boards that students with weaker A-levels, if they've attended a poor school, should be able to automatically leapfrog students who possess stronger A-levels in the race for university places?

Exam boards exist to measure ability, not engage in crude social engineering."

@SchoolDuggery retorts:

"That Mail article by Gove is vile. Pure tribalism when the idea being discussed is complex and needs deep thought. Sorry."

The Telegraph quotes Barnaby Lenon, chairman of the Independent Schools Council and former headmaster of Harrow, as saying:

"The implications for this country's educational system are horrendous."

Oh I don't know - floods of rich kids banging on the doors of the country's least successful comps? Sounds thrilling.

• Ed Miliband's former school has abandoned plans to become an academy, the Independent reports. Both he and brother David attended Haverstock School, a comprehensive in north London, which recently started a consultation to become an academy. But it's changed its mind, apparently.

• The vice-chancellor of the University of London has announced he is stepping down just one year into the post. According to a THE report, Geoffrey Crossick says he will leave the part-time role in July 2012 because the workload is more onerous than he expected.

Education seminars from Guardian Professional

The Guardian Teacher Network runs training sessions for teachers throughout the year in Yorkshire and London. Upcoming courses include:

Is your school thinking of becoming an academy?

This seminar will provide an independent view of the advantages and disadvantages of converting to academy status. It will look at the process of conversion, the implications of academy status, and the support and funding available. November 30, in London. February 21, 2012 in Yorkshire

Protecting young people in a digital age

Led by school digital safety experts, this one-day course will provide safeguarding policy and Ofsted criteria updates, as well as looking at social media and offering practical advice to help your school develop its digital safety policies. February 1, 2012 in London. February 8, 2012 in Yorkshire.

For a full list visit the Guardian Teacher Network

Teachers seminars from the Guardian Education Centre

Reading for pleasure – bringing classics to life

This half-day conference for secondary school teachers will explore the use and teaching of classic books from Dickens and beyond. Keynote speakers will be Simon Callow, actor and Dickens enthusiast and Judy Golding, daughter of William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies.

20 October, London

Insight into digital journalism

Spend a day at the Guardian and find out how an international news media organisation works. The seminar will focus on aspects of digital journalism including writing and editing for a news website, the relationship between print and web journalism, live blogging, the use of social media, podcasting and video production.

2 November, Kings Place, London

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All manner of foreign potentates acknowledge the work of a group which chucked London for a much happier time by the Tyne. The Northerner's arts ace Alan Sykes has the news.

It was announced today that the Newcastle-based education charity Creativity, Culture and Education is one of the winners of a US$20,000 WISE Award.

The award, from the Qatar-based WISE Foundation, is for CCE's Creative Partnerships project (http://www.creative-partnerships.com/), which worked with 2700 schools across England, developing the skills of young people, raising their aspirations and opening up new opportunities. Running in parallel with the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha, the annual WISE Awards are designed to identify, showcase and promote innovative educational projects from around the world in order to spread best practices and build the future of education.

Previous winners have included the Masachussetts Institute of Technology, "The Next Einstein" initiative of South Africa, Save the Children and projects in Nigeria, Pakistan, Ghana, Paraguay, India and Turkey.

Paul Collard, the ebullient Chief Executive of Creativity, Culture & Education – who sensibly moved the organisation out of London and up to Great North House in Newcastle three years ago - welcomed the news of the award, saying:

It's great to have such strong international recognition of the importance of the work we're doing. The theme of this year's awards was "Transforming Education: Investment, Innovation and Inclusion" which sums up pretty neatly our raison d'être – our programmes transform the education experience of young people, we generate £15.30 of value for every £1 invested in us, nothing else like our work has ever been attempted in the UK on anything like this scale before, and most of our work is with the most disadvantaged - the 40% of young people who have no experience of cultural activity outside school.

Commenting on the winning projects, Sheikh Abdulla bin Ali Al-Thani, Chairman of the WISE Awards Jury, said:

The WISE Awards aim to showcase inspiring projects and give them the exposure they deserve. The 2011 WISE Awards Winners have often had to overcome pre-conceived ideas and find creative solutions to break down barriers to innovation in education. They have already been rewarded by the positive results of their projects. I would like to congratulate them all for their perseverance and worthy achievements.

The winners were selected by a jury which also included Professor Lidia Brito, director of UNESCO's Science, Policy & Sustainable Development directorate, Esko Aho, former Prime Minister of Finland and Linda Koch Lorimer, Vice President of Yale University.

Champion of the study of translation

Peter Newmark, who has died aged 95, took the lead in making translation an academic study in its own right. He developed translation theory in striking and sometimes controversial ways, describing the conversion of a text from one language to another as both a science and an art.

Central to both ways of looking at it was the idea of engagement in a truth-seeking activity: "Translation is concerned with moral and factual truth. This truth can only be effectively rendered if it is grasped by the reader, and that is the purpose and the end of translation." Thus the translator is an agent with moral responsibilities, and Newmark emphasised "the role of translation as a political weapon that can and must be used to defend human rights and to favour understanding and peace".

While some writing in this field, which is related to comparative linguistics, semantics and socio-linguistics, can be very dry, Newmark always enlivened what he had to say with practical examples. His publications ranged over three decades, from Approaches to Translation (1981) to the chapter on linguistic theories of translation that he contributed to the Routledge Companion to Translation Studies (2009).

He was also an indefatigable champion of language learning, arguing for government recognition, resources and commitment, and had an influential role in the Chartered Institute of Linguists, of which he became president. A driving force behind the development of vocationally oriented language teaching programmes, in 1967, together with Anthony Crane, he launched the first postgraduate diploma in technical and specialised translation in the UK, at the Polytechnic of Central London (now the University of Westminster).

Born in Brno, in the Czech republic, Newmark had an English father who ran a successful textiles business. He was educated amidst "the frightful conventionality", as he put it, of Rugby school.

At Cambridge University, he came under the influence of the literary critic FR Leavis. His French tutor was Anthony Blunt. A brief convert to communism, Newmark was a Labour party supporter until 2002, when the government decided to remove the requirement to teach foreign languages from the post-14 school curriculum.

During the second world war he served with intelligence in the 8th Army in Italy. Sent to interpret the German surrender at Bolzano, he spent the evening with German officers in a villa talking about German Romantic poets. The next morning the surrender was duly signed. Newmark ordered three extra bottles of champagne for the interpreter-general, and to his surprise, they were promptly delivered.

Postwar teaching led to his time in the 1960s as head of modern languages at Holborn College of Law, Languages and Commerce. The college amalgamated with the Polytechnic of Central London, from which he retired as dean of languages in 1981.

Until earlier this year Newmark was visiting professor at the University of Surrey, and he was a frequent lecturer abroad. He loved classical music, theatre and all kinds of literature and poetry. A dedicated supporter of Amnesty International, he was also passionate about the cause of Palestine.

He is survived by his wife, Pauline, his daughters, Clare (from a former marriage) and Liz, a son, Matthew, and four grandchildren.

• Peter Newmark, teacher and writer, born 12 April 1916; died 9 July 2011

Veterinary pathologist behind important advances in medicine

William Jarrett, who has died aged 83, was the most distinguished veterinary pathologist of his generation. He is probably best known for his discovery in 1964 of the retrovirus that causes leukaemia and lymphoma in domestic cats, but his research covered a remarkable breadth of subjects, principally viral and parasitic diseases, and his findings led to important advances in human and veterinary medicine.

Bill was born in Glasgow but his family moved shortly afterwards to a smallholding near Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, where he grew up. He was educated at Lenzie academy and followed his elder brother Tom into the Glasgow Veterinary College, graduating with honours in 1949. His subsequent postgraduate research in pathology, both at the college and with Daniel Cappell, professor of pathology at the University of Glasgow Medical School, provided the basis for his encyclopedic knowledge of animal and human diseases.

After the award of his PhD in 1953, he married Anna Sharp, whom he had met at school. Anna was then a lecturer at the Glasgow College of Domestic Science and provided a home that was a focus of exceptional warmth and hospitality for friends and colleagues.

Bill was among a group of young scientists recruited by William Weipers to the new veterinary school, formed in 1949 from the incorporation of the college into the University of Glasgow. There he was part of an interdisciplinary team investigating parasitic bronchitis in calves, then a major problem in the south-west of Scotland.

The tangible result of their research was Dictol, which remains the only vaccine against a nematode parasite, and is still in use in many countries. The commercial success of Dictol promoted a significant growth of parasitic research at the Glasgow school, which then expanded into Africa. Bill was part of an international team seconded to establish a veterinary school in Nairobi in the 1960s. While there, his novel work on the kinetics of replication of Theileria parva, the cause of East Coast fever in cattle, provided the basis for future vaccine developments.

In the early 1960s, Bill's attention was drawn to a cluster of cases of lymphoma in a household of pet cats in Glasgow. His belief that this was caused by an infectious agent was confirmed by reproducing the disease in transmission experiments, and finding a retrovirus, now known as feline leukaemia virus (FeLV), in the resulting tumours. Subsequent research by his rapidly expanding virology group underpinned the development of diagnostic tests and vaccines which have virtually eradicated this virus from many countries.

The discovery of FeLV added to the realisation that viruses might be major causes of cancers in humans. Bill's observation that FeLV caused mainly lymphomas of T-cell origin in the cat switched the American biomedical researcher Robert Gallo's virus-hunting activities to T-cell tumours in people, and led to his discovery of the human leukaemia virus, HTLV, and subsequently HIV. Bill's association with Gallo resulted in a year working in Washington as a Fogarty scholar in 1985. On his return, he became part of the Aids programme of the UK Medical Research Council and established a research group that used feline immunodeficiency virus as a model for HIV vaccination.

In 1968 Bill was appointed professor of veterinary pathology at Glasgow, a post he held for 22 years. In the late 1970s, investigating the reasons for the high incidence of alimentary tract cancer in cattle in some parts of Scotland, he discovered that a papillomavirus causes the disease in association with the consumption of bracken, which contains carcinogens. His discovery was the definitive proof that this family of viruses is implicated in cancer development. Yet another research group was set up and, following a thorough study of the biology of the virus, he and his colleagues developed a vaccine that was the forerunner of the vaccine for cervical cancer in women.

Bill retired in 1990. His remarkable contribution to comparative medicine was recognised with the award of honorary degrees and lifetime achievement awards from many universities and scientific societies throughout Europe and North America. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1965 and a fellow of the Royal Society in 1980.

Bill was a charismatic character and hugely entertaining, which won him many friends and research collaborators. His legacy to science in Glasgow has been the recruitment of a new generation of scientists who have established the veterinary school as the largest research institute of comparative medicine in the UK, with a particular focus on virology and oncology.

He was a courageous man, both physically and intellectually. Over the years, he and Anna engaged in sports that carried a certain frisson: mountaineering, skiing and particularly sailing, off the coasts of west Scotland, France and Mallorca. Sadly, these activities ceased 10 years ago as a result of their ill-health. Anna died of a stroke last year and Bill succumbed to Parkinson's disease, borne with his habitual courage.

He is survived by his daughters, Freda and Ruth, both medical graduates; Freda's children, Amanda and Hamish; and his brother Oswald, who is also an authority on retroviruses.

• William Fleming Hoggan Jarrett, veterinary pathologist, born 2 January 1928; died 27 August 2011

Shadow education secretary says teenagers should be able to apply for apprenticeships in the same way they do for university

The shadow education secretary has called for the creation of a national Ucas-style system for apprenticeships to provide a clear path for teenagers who do not go to university.

Andy Burnham told delegates at the Labour party conference in Liverpool: "As a country, we haven't focused anything like enough on the opportunities for the 50% or more of kids who don't plan to go to university. Young people who want to head towards work or an apprenticeship are left to fend for themselves."

Burnham's speech echoed Blair's "education, education, education" mantra. He said because of the foundations laid by Blair, Labour could go further towards: "aspiration, aspiration, aspiration".

Before his speech, delegates were addressed by Andrew Chubb, a headteacher from Hull, who said the government's English baccalaureate was damaging and divisive.

The English baccalaureate is awarded to pupils who achieve good GCSE passes in English, maths, science, a foreign language and geography. Chubb has launched an alternative called the modern baccalaureate for pupils who gain passes in eight GCSE subjects including English, maths, science and information and communications technology.

Burnham called for a true baccalaureate, which would prepare young people for the modern world. He argued that the education secretary, Michael Gove, was promoting Latin and ancient Greek – two of the GCSE options in the English baccalaureate – over engineering, ICT and business studies.

"I want as many children as possible to take the subjects in the English baccalaureate. But they are not right for everyone. And yet the message is clear – any school or student who doesn't succeed is second best. As we have heard today, there is a growing grassroots rejection of Mr Gove and his elitist and divisive policies."

Burnham said free schools "can embody the comprehensive ideal", but warned this ideal was under attack from changes to the school admissions code and the use of the English baccalaureate as a measure.

Before his speech, the conference was also addressed by Yvonne Sharples, a headteacher from a school in Speke, who endeared herself to delegates by declaring: "I was never really cut out for school – I was naughty." She praised her teachers, who "kept on nurturing me".

Her school has been turned around after going into special measures, the Ofsted term for a failing school. It has gone from 1% of children achieving five good GCSE passes, including English and maths, to 29% this summer.

She criticised Gove's decision to raise the minimum standard for secondary schools from 30% to 35% last year. "In Mr Gove's eyes we are a failing school," she said. "Shame on you, Michael, how dare you? 47% of my students gain English GCSE. They believe they're the best kids in the world because that's what we tell them."

The school a pupil attended should clearly be considered alongside their grades when they apply for university. Why is the idea so controversial?

It seems pretty fair to me that the quality of the education received should be considered alongside the bare statistics of exam results by universities seeking new students. You'd think that institutions would want as clear a picture as possible of the potential of applicants before doling out places. So exam board AQA's plan to rank A-level students according to the school they attended seems not radical, but just a scheme whereby more detailed information is imparted.

Everybody hates it though, and even the Sutton Trust isn't keen. The excellent education charity is always worth listening to. Its spokesman, Lee Elliot Major, told the Independent that it supported the use of "contextual information" but added that the "bigger challenges" were in "encouraging pupils actually to apply when they have the grades".

Nothing, it seems, can replace a scholastic environment that pushes its best pupils to be very ambitious.

Much as I like the new Channel 4 series Educating Essex, episode one, at least, seemed packed with enthusiastic and gifted teachers making heroic efforts just to make children ambitious enough to put their phones down, or hand over their hoodie. Surely there cannot be much harm in letting universities know when a lot of a school's effort has, of necessity, been expended on the more reluctant students?

Quarter of colleges have missed targets for access, even before fees are trebled

A quarter of English universities failed to meet their targets to admit substantially more disadvantaged students last year, a government watchdog has revealed .

Cambridge, Bristol, Exeter, Durham and University College London are among 23 institutions that admit making insufficient progress in widening their mix of applicants in 2009-10 – leading to accusations that the intake of the most selective universities is "increasingly privileged". David Willetts, the universities minister, said the report was proof that social mobility had stalled.

The disclosure, in the annual monitoring report of the Office for Fair Access (Offa), will renew fears that the least privileged teenagers are being excluded from some of the country's top universities.

The 23 institutions include universities and other higher education bodies with degree-awarding powers. A further 21 colleges that offer degrees also failed to reach their targets.

Since 2006, universities and colleges have been allowed to charge "top-up" fees – currently just over £3,000 a year – on the condition that they boost the proportion of their applicants who have been in care, come from low-income families or have disabilities. Institutions set their own targets, but are asked to benchmark themselves against their competitors.

Universities and colleges received nearly £474m from the Higher Education Funding Council last year to spend on bursaries, scholarships and "outreach" activities. They were given the money whether or not they met their targets.

Sir Martin Harris, director of Offa, said he was concerned that a quarter of universities had not met their targets and would be discussing their performance. Offa would not reveal what the universities' targets had been. But to give an idea of what they are they are achieving, 12.6% of Cambridge students in 2009/10 came from homes where the annual income is less than £25,000.

The government intends to pass legislation to give Offa the power to fine universities and colleges that make insufficient progress in widening access, and – in extreme cases – to demand they lower their fees. Willetts said: "We need to see real progress in fair access, especially at our most selective institutions."

Wes Streeting, chief executive of the Helena Kennedy Foundation, which provides bursaries and mentoring to disadvantaged students, said it was "deeply worrying" that universities had failed to make enough progress in widening participation. "This is before fees are trebled next year. It's hard to see how things will get better before they get worse," he said. Many of the poorest families felt universitywas now unaffordable.

The Russell group, which represents 20 elite universities, said misunderstandings about the costs and benefits of a university education and a lack of confidence on the part of potential applicants were partly to blame for the missed targets. "A-level (and equivalent) results in the right subjects are more important than money in deciding whether a student will go to a Russell group university," said Wendy Piatt, director general of the group.

Cambridge said it runs hundreds of events each year to raise the educational aspirations of disadvantaged students. A spokesman said its long-term aim was to admit more students from under-represented groups within the framework of our admissions policy and "without compromising entry standards".

Lee Elliot Major, research and policy director of the Sutton Trust, a charity that promotes social mobility through education, said the intake of the most selective universities was "increasingly privileged … This is to the exclusion of children from average backgrounds, not just those from the poorest households." He said that while there had been "faltering progress" to widen access, there was little understanding of what kinds of outreach worked. "Universities could do more. It's not just about how much universities spend on this, but what they do about it. We are nowhere near understanding what works and what doesn't in terms of outreach activities."

Offa calculated how much of the extra income that universities receive from tuition fees was spent on recruiting and encouraging poor students to take up places. It found that last year, institutions spent 25.1% (£395m) of their extra income on widening access, compared with 25.8% (£344m) the year before. The proportion spent on outreach work, such as school visits, was 2.4% of extra income last year – the lowest for at least four years.

The average bursary awarded to students from low-income homes was £935, compared with £942 the year before.

The report shows wide variations: the University of Sunderland spent 42.9% of its extra income on bursaries, scholarships and outreach activities, while Middlesex spent 9%. The proportion of students who came from homes where annual income was below £25,000 ranged from 50.1% at the University of Bolton to 10.1% at the Courtauld Institute of Art. At Oxford it was 14.4%.

Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students, said: "The haphazard formation of student support in universities means that those universities with the best record of recruiting those from non-traditional backgrounds have the least money available to spend per student.

"Universities with poorer access records misleadingly claim success because they have more funds available to a very small pool of students."

Sir Alan Langlands, chief executive of the HEFC, said: "Concerns are beginning to be expressed that the level of widening participation activity delivered in future may decline." Restrictions on student numbers and higher fees might have a disproportionate impact on students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Universities intending to charge fees of between £6,000 and £9,000 a year from autumn 2012 have been asked to set themselves tougher targets for widening their pool of students. For the first time, they will have to set themselves a target to broaden the mix of students who enter the university, not just those who apply.

Missed targets

The 23 universities that failed to meet their targets to admit more disadvantaged students:

Bath Spa University

Bournemouth University

Conservatoire for Dance and Drama

Courtauld Institute of Art

Guildhall School of Music & Drama

King's College London

Kingston University

Leeds Metropolitan University

Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts

London Studio Centre

Loughborough University

Open University

The University of West London

University College London

University of Bath

University of Bristol

University of Cambridge

University of Cumbria

University of Durham

University of Exeter

University of the Arts London

University of Warwick

University of Westminster

Source: Office for Fair Access

Adoption services are in "crisis" struggling with rising numbers of children in care, but failing to place them with new parents. Only 60 babies were adopted last year. Polly Curtis, with your help, looks into what is going wrong. Email your views to polly.curtis@guardian.co.uk, contact her on Twitter @pollycurtis or join the debate below the line.

8.29am: It's a shocking statistic: only 60 babies under the age of one were adopted in England last year and the number of under 16s being adopted overall fell year-on-year. This is despite the fact that there were record numbers of children in care. But are all those children really in need of adoption? What are the barriers to placing needy children with willing parents? Why do children spend 2.7 years on average in care before being adopted?

The question

Why are so few children being adopted in England?

Throughout today I'm going to look into what's going wrong in the system by asking the experts and examining the statistics and evidence available. I'll update this blog as I find out more. But can you help? Are you a parent attempting to adopt a child, were you a child who was adopted or do you work in adoption services? Do you have any evidence or experience that can help us understand what is behind the trend? Get in touch below the line, email polly.curtis@guardian.co.uk or contact me on Twitter @pollycurtis.

The analysis

The government statistics on adoption published yesterday by the Department of Education reveal that last year only 60 babies were adopted out of a total of 3,050 children adopted overall, a drop from 3,330 in 2007 . Some 65,520 children were in care in the same period, up from 59,970 in 2007. The average period a child spends in care before adoption was 2.7 years, which has stayed pretty much stable since 2007. This table shows the main statistics.

It's clear that more children are in the care system, but there are fewer being adopted.

The story features on three front pages of today's newspaper. The Times, which has run a long campaign on the issue, says the figures are the result of a deepening crisis in the system (£). The Independent says that children are being left in limbo in care homes. The Guardian reports children's minister Tim Loughton who says the figures are "not good enough".

9.56am: Some of the country's leading experts have been talking about the latest statistics offering their view of what the problem is.

Anne Marie Carrie, chief executive of the children's charity Barnardos, was asked on the Today programme what the barriers are. She said:

There are a number of factors, one of the factors is the fact that we do not cherish people when they come forward saying they want to be a parent. We treat them with enormous suspicion. We set thresholds that frankly would prevent you and I adopting our own children.

We're too slow to say that some parenting is frankly not good enough and is never going to be good enough and we should put the child first. I absolutely accept that we must make sure we take very considered decisions in this. But actually the presumption now is that the dysfunctional parent is given chance after chance and there's a point where we should say the child comes first.

Carrie's predecessor, Martin Narey, is now the government's adoption csar, His appointment was announced after he conducted an influential report on the state of the adoption system for the Times newspaper's long-running campaign on this. He's also been speaking with the Today programme. I missed the interview but his comments but the programme's @BBCr4today twitter account tweeted:

Martin Narey - 'Frankly scandalous that a white child right now in care is three times as likely to be adopted as a black child' #adoption

Martin Narey, ministerial adviser on #adoption - Numbers (of adoptions of very young children) very disappointing but the tide is turning

(The #adoption hashtag on twitter is getting a lot of traffic and seems to be the best to follow on this debate, by the way.)

I'm starting to get a few emails from people with personal experience of this, I'll post some in the comments but I thought this one was very interesting. Its author asked not to be named.

As a foster carer, I have seen the system close up, and while I believe the hearts of most social workers are good they are tied down by endless repetitive paperwork. Freeing a child up for adoption is the last choice to most. The biological parent has so many rights to stop this that a child can be school age even if taken into care as a baby.

Also rules like a child must have a room of their own makes adoption impossible for some. Sharing my room with my sisters never harmed me. I'm not sure why it is that White children are adopted first, I personally see a child not a colour, but I know many don't. Maybe adoptive parents are concerned by the commitment they have to make to raise the child knowing their culture.

Personally I think it should be the future of the child that needs to be assessed not the past.My dream is to adopt a child and I do hope that comes true but for the time being I love my job as a foster carer.

I foster because I love it, adoption never really crossed my mind until I began fostering. The desire to give a child a permanent secure home. The only reason I'm waiting is because I have no extra space. If dreams came true I would have a lovely big house and would adopt one maybe two children.

This theory arrived via an email:

Seems pretty straight forward: Because women who otherwise wouldn't have been able to bear children now have the option of IVF and other new reproductive technologies...

And this via Twitter (posted below in comments here as well):

One thing that is not being mentioned re: reduction in adoption is family relatives taking up special guardianship orders.

These are interesting ideas and I can't readily see stats on the numbers of prospective adoptive parents, or on guardianship - can anyone point me towards them?

A few initial additional questions I'm hoping to flesh out more – and would love you to send views/evidence on.

• What are the figures on prospective adoptive parents coming forward?

• Are all the children in care in need of adopting?

• What are the barriers facing parents, the services and the system?

Fantastic comments in the thread below, thanks very much to all.

Ahead of tonight's instalment of the Channel 4 documentary, we ask teachers and students what they thought of the first episode

Channel 4 viewers head back to the classroom tonight for the second instalment of Educating Essex. Last week's episode of the observational documentary prompted interesting debate, but mostly from viewers who haven't sat behind a desk for while. So what about the people who spend every day in school? We asked three students and three teachers from Longsands Academy – a state secondary in St Neots, Cambridgeshire – to watch the programme and tell us what they thought.

The teachers

Claire Marsh, science teacher
I was interested to see how day-to-day activities would be portrayed – and certain issues were very familiar. School uniform (hoodies) and mobile phones in particular are problems I encounter on a daily basis, as do, I'm sure, teachers up and down the country. I think adults who may not have been in a school environment since their own school days will be surprised to see just how much of a teacher's day is wasted on such trivial matters.
I was disappointed at times by the way the senior leadership team came across in the programme. While I consider myself lucky to work with colleagues who can have a joke and enjoy their jobs, the senior team maintain a professional image in front of students. That seemed to be lacking in the senior team on the show, despite the deputy head's attempts to uphold discipline. The girls on phones while in his office, colleagues bursting into a lesson to sing happy birthday and the headteacher's handling of the girl's suspension all seemed unrealistic.

Karyn Nash, teaching assistant
The first episode of Educating Essex had both good and bad points. Seeing both pupils and teachers wearing microphones rather detracted from the sense of reality and I was surprised to see a shot of a student walking across a table and a teacher calling his pupils "scumbags". I also wondered whether some pupils would be shocked by hearing teachers swearing. Is that something that students should see even when showing teachers outside the classroom?
But I was impressed by the tenacious attitude of the teachers: refusing to give up on challenging students in order to give every pupil a chance to achieve success. Not only did the teachers demonstrate that they know the time for fun and the time for learning, but they also showed that they know how to make learning fun. I did enjoy hearing the teachers' ideas on teaching, watching as they battled against teenage self-destruction and seeing students through the eyes of the teachers who provided them with security. I eagerly await the next episode!

James Diggory, English teacher
If the aim of Educating Essex is, in the words of Steve Drew, "to show people what life is like inside a modern secondary school", then in many ways it lived up to its billing: pupils on mobile phones, swearing at each other, sometimes swearing at teachers and generally creating havoc for the show's protagonist Mr Drew. Welcome, Britain, to the world of 21st-century teaching?
As someone at the chalk face every day, I was simultaneously impressed and saddened by the producers' editing decisions. It was brilliant to see staff and students reflecting on the tough times and wrong decisions made (often with self-deprecating humour), but why was the entire focus on one frazzled (but admirably upbeat) teacher with a heart of gold, and three students with behavioural issues?
There are times when students step over the mark, but my fear is that after episode one, anyone watching from outside of the education profession will be left with the impression that all of Britain's teenagers today are gobby, impolite, spoilt and lacking enough self-discipline to interact with anyone. In my experience the majority of Britain's teenagers are interesting, polite and simply brilliant young people quietly (well relatively!) going about the business of creating a bright future for themselves. That's what life inside a modern secondary school is really like.

The students

Harriet Haynes, Year 13
I found watching Educating Essex very insightful. It was weird for me to see teachers so "real". They were just like normal people; fun-loving, active and immature in a sense. I liked seeing them in that sort of way as you don't see that in school. The teachers enjoy their jobs and "have to entertain" which is good because it makes the lesson so much more memorable. I have had lessons in which the teachers really seem to enjoy what they're doing and it makes the lesson so much more fun.
Also, when it came down to it, the teachers' professional side was very appropriate. They dealt with situations concerning troubled students very well. Seeing the relationship between teachers and students shocked me. I didn't realise that students can have so little respect for their teachers! Maybe I have been sheltered and have seen little bad behaviour, but I found seeing students throwing snowballs at teachers and claiming that the teachers had assaulted students really shocking.

Ben Stapleton, Year 12
We saw Mr Drew's discipline methods as well as hearing his opinion on the kids. Early in the show he told us that if a child behaves badly that can sometimes be blamed on the parents. I agree with this – if parents don't get it right early on, it can change their child's life course.
Seeing the great bond that the teachers have was good – it showed their strong morale and that bad students don't have a bad impact on them. It would probably make me see teachers differently now.
While parents may have thought the behaviour of the pupils shocking, as a teenager I am used to it, and it didn't surprise me at all. While the programme only highlighted the bad students, which supports stereotypes of modern reckless teens, I think the show was also trying to reassure parents by showing the school's strict disciplinary system.

Jo Sellick, Year 12
I thought the idea was really clever although I have to admit it wasn't what I was expecting – I thought that it would be boring and very Big Brother-ish. What amazed me most was just how far some students would go to get attention, including making a claim of assault against one of the teachers. It was interesting to see the different reactions that students have towards their teachers– for instance, some end up finally listening to them while others just go around causing even more trouble.
It was good that the programme interviewed and got opinions from the teachers as well as the students because it was interesting to hear both sides. But while the show had its plus points, it didn't really have the wow-factor needed to make me watch it again. It is definitely more suited to adults and parents rather than teenagers.

Headteachers put to the test: will they vote to strike?

Who's going to give them detention for bunking off school? The first strike by headteachers moves a step closer today as their union, the NAHT, sends out ballot papers and school leaders begin voting on whether to walk out over government plans to reduce their pensions.

The NAHT's Russell Hobby (@russellhobby) says:

"That reasonable heads are pushed to this extreme demonstrates the failure of the government's approach to negotiation - no valuation, no costings, just rhetoric."

The union hints that November 30 could be the day of the walk-out.

And while we're on strikes, Middlesex University staff look set to down tools next Tuesday over job cuts and changes in conditions.

Education news from the Guardian

• A quarter of English universities have failed to meet their targets for widening access to poorer students. They include Cambridge, Exeter, Durham, Bristol and Warwick. Wes Streeting (@wesstreeting), chief executive of the Helena Kennedy Foundation which provides bursaries and mentoring to disadvantaged students, says:

"This is before fees are trebled next year. It's hard to see how things will get better before they get worse."

• Andy Burnham (@andyburnhammp) called for Ucas-style applications for apprenticeships at the Labour party conference yesterday. Did that idea go down any better than his modbacc? Not with Guardian readers. Here's davidabsolom:

"Ucas exists to administer the entry of a vast number of students into university. The pressing problem with apprenticeships is not that the entry system needs that sort of overall administration but that there are nowhere near enough places for people to apply to.

Just as in their plans for letting the most worthy jump the housing queue or making the long-term unemployed work for nothing, Labour fail to see that the fundamental problem is supply, not admin."

• Channel 4 viewers head back to school tonight for the second instalment of Educating Essex. The Guardian's TV blog has asked three students and three teachers to watch the programme and tell readers whether they think it's a realistic depiction of classroom life.

Education news from around the web

• Everton's charity wing has got to the "financial stage" of the free school application process. How, we wonder, does Burnham, an Everton fanatic who once declared "I would rather play for Everton in the cup final than be prime minister", feel about the club's enthusiasm for Michael Gove's flagship scheme?

Having turned its nose up at Burnham's conference speech, Cribsheet would like to make up for it by sharing his impressive goal scored against a team of journalists. Here's the YouTube clip. (Thanks @patrickjbutler for this injection of testosterone into proceedings.)

• Richard Fraser (@ricardofraser) of the Voice union has taken it upon himself to explain to Messrs Gove and Burnham why neither the former's ebacc nor the latter's modbacc are in fact baccalaureates. Fraser concludes:

"Rather than sticking fancy labels on pre-existing qualifications and achievements, both the secretary of state and his shadow should be looking at how the whole assessment system could be transformed, with more teacher and ongoing assessment, a greater range and type of subjects on offer to inspire pupils and parity between the vocational and the academic."

• The BBC has a video report on the training of 100 former members of the armed forces to become mentors in schools in England.

• Ones to Watch media (@ones_to_watch) has the story of freshers being housed in portable buildings in a car park at the University of Lincoln.

• Do read the intriguing feature by Richard Garner in the Independent on Wellington Academy, the state school sponsored by famous public school Wellington College. The two have staged a joint production of Oliver that has been playing to packed houses at both venues.

• But feel free to avoid the Mail's contribution to the education debate - it contemplates the pressing question: Is it bad form to fancy your child's teacher?

From the Guardian's Higher Education Network

• Labour's tuition fees policy: does the party's announcement that it will remove price variability and back a £6,000 fixed fee deserve a first or a fail, asks Aaron Porter?

• The tweeting VC: professor Steven Schwartz of Macquarie University talks to Eliza Anyangwe about internationalisation, social media, and why being a VC is like carrying a crystal bowl through slippery corridors

• Live chat: Do universities need to become more efficient? Universities UK has set up an efficiency and modernisation task group, but what can HEIs do to improve their own efficiency?

Education seminars from Guardian Professional

The Guardian Teacher Network runs training sessions for teachers throughout the year in Yorkshire and London. Upcoming courses include:

Is your school thinking of becoming an academy?

This seminar will provide an independent view of the advantages and disadvantages of converting to academy status. It will look at the process of conversion, the implications of academy status, and the support and funding available. November 30, in London. February 21, 2012 in Yorkshire

Protecting young people in a digital age

Led by school digital safety experts, this one-day course will provide safeguarding policy and Ofsted criteria updates, as well as looking at social media and offering practical advice to help your school develop its digital safety policies. February 1, 2012 in London. February 8, 2012 in Yorkshire.

For a full list visit the Guardian Teacher Network

Teachers seminars from the Guardian Education Centre

Reading for pleasure – bringing classics to life

This half-day conference for secondary school teachers will explore the use and teaching of classic books from Dickens and beyond. Keynote speakers will be Simon Callow, actor and Dickens enthusiast and Judy Golding, daughter of William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies.

20 October, London

Insight into digital journalism

Spend a day at the Guardian and find out how an international news media organisation works. The seminar will focus on aspects of digital journalism including writing and editing for a news website, the relationship between print and web journalism, live blogging, the use of social media, podcasting and video production.

2 November, Kings Place, London

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Figures show gaps in achievement persist between boys and girls, and between poor and more affluent

Tens of thousands of seven-year-olds are struggling to master the three Rs, official figures show.

The new statistics reveal that after three years of schooling many children can read only the easiest words, such as "cat" or "dog", and do the very simplest sums.

Almost 106,000 seven-year-olds have failed to reach level 2 – the standard expected of the age group – in writing.

More than 83,000 pupils have a reading age of a five-year-old or lower. And over 58,000 children are falling behind the expected standard in maths.

The figures, published by the Department for Education, are based on teachers' assessments of pupil achievement at the age of seven.

They show that 85% reached the expected level or higher in reading, 81% achieved it in writing, 90% made at least level 2 in maths and 89% reached it in science. These figures are broadly the same as last year.

The percentages of pupils achieving level 3 – one above the required standard – in each of these subjects has also remained static this year, except in science, where it dropped from 21% to 20%.

The statistics also show that boys are still lagging behind girls.

Nearly nine in 10 (89%) seven-year-old girls reached level 2 or higher in reading, compared with 82% of boys.

In writing, 87% of girls scored at least level 2 compared with three-quarters (76%) of boys, and in maths there was a gap of three percentage points, with 91% of girls achieving the expected level against 88% of boys.

Schools minister Nick Gibb says: "These figures show that many children are doing well. But it is worrying that there are still so many who are behind just three years into their school careers.

"Success in later life is founded on an understanding of the 3Rs in the first few years of school. Problems must be identified at a young age and rectified before it is too late."

There is also a gap in achievement between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their more affluent classmates. Just two-thirds (67%) of pupils on free school meals (FSM) – a measure of poverty – reached level 2 in writing, compared with 85% of all other pupils.

And while 88% of all other pupils reached the expected standard in reading, the same was true for only 73% of children eligible for free dinners.

In maths, 81% of FSM pupils reached level 2 compared with 92% of other youngsters.

Gibb says: "The overriding objective of the government is to close the attainment gap between those from poorer and wealthier backgrounds.

"Today's key stage 1 figures, revealing that a third of boys eligible for free school meals are not reaching the expected level in reading, demonstrates the scale of the challenge and why tackling poor reading is such an urgent priority."