Andy Burnham’s technical education reforms are doomed to fail Opinion Reforming technical education is a laudable ambition but we have been here before. There are three questions Andy Burnham must answer before anyone takes him seriously, says Lord Agnew There is laudable ambition in the Prime Minister’s announcement of technical routes in education from 14, parity with the academic path and employers brought properly into [...]
New digital V levels aim to bridge Britain’s AI skills gap Tech The government’s new digital V-level is meant to solve two problems at once: the confusion of England’s post-16 qualifications system, and the growing mismatch between what young people learn and what employers now need. From 2027, ‘digital’ will be one of the first three V-level subjects offered alongside education and early years, alongside finance and [...]
What could digital exams mean for British pupils? Tech By the end of the decade, British pupils could be swapping pens for keyboards in GCSE and A Levels, marking the biggest change to exams in a generation. Ofqual has launched a 12-week consultation on regulating on-screen assessments, showing that digital exams are no longer a distant idea. Under the proposals, each exam board would [...]
Industrial strategy vs journalism: The battle for UK university funding September 17, 2025 The future of journalism courses in UK higher education is under threat after the government confirmed plans to divert funding away from media and communications courses and towards subjects more directly tied to its industrial strategy. In May, ministers announced a £108m cut to the Strategic Priorities Grant (SPG) for 2025-26 – reducing the total [...]
Labour is gambling with Britain’s global competitiveness – ‘real-life Iron Man’ September 8, 2025 A British engineer and chief executive, known as the ‘real-life Iron Man’, has warned the Labour government is “gambling with Britain’s competitiveness on a global stage”. Richard Browning, a former Royal Marine who leads Gravity Industries, has written an open letter to education secretary Bridget Phillipson expressing concern over the “waning entrepreneurial spirit across our [...]
UK launches free AI training for schools as staff confidence lags July 17, 2025 The government has rolled out a new suite of free training materials to help schools and colleges across England get to grips with artificial intelligence in the classroom. The Department of Education (DfE) said the resources – developed by Chiltern Learning Trust and the Chartered College of Teaching – aim to boost staff confidence in [...]
Government slammed over digital safety, as MPs demand tougher screen time controls May 22, 2025 The UK government has come under fire from education leaders and MPs after issuing what has been branded a “disappointing” and “lacking urgency” response to calls for tighter regulation around children’s screen time and digital safety. The Education Select Committee has condemned ministers for downplaying recommendations from its May 2024 report on screen time, which [...]
City Hall skills bootcamps to receive £27m funding boost April 17, 2025 City Hall is set to receive a funding boost of £27m for a skills bootcamp programme for Londoners, Sir Sadiq Khan has announced. The mayor of London has welcomed the funding from the Department for Education (DfE) which represents a 25 per cent annual uplift for the programme of flexible courses, across some 7,700 trainees, [...]
Next government should consider ban on phones for under-16s, report says May 25, 2024 The next government should consider a statutory ban on mobile phones in schools and a total ban on phones for under-16s, a report from MPs says. The House of Commons Education Committee said tougher guidance on mobile phones in schools and how to manage children’s screen time at home is needed to better protect young [...]