Measures to suppress Covid-19 are causing untold damage to students and young people September 30, 2020 The motto of the Young Money Blog is “don’t get mad — get informed”. But in recent weeks and months, I’ve found it hard not to get mad. As we try to head into an uncertain and bleak winter, emergency laws designed to curb the spread of Covid-19 are fast becoming a moral and economic [...]
The mutant algorithm: what actually went wrong with this year’s school exams September 9, 2020 The Prime Minister described it as a “mutant algorithm”. Social commentators were naturally outraged as it disproportionately upgraded the results of children from private schools, while downgrading those from state schools, especially in the poorest areas. Few people actually understood how it worked, as the technical report from the UK Office for Qualifications (Ofqual) purporting [...]
We’ve spent months on Zoom, but we mustn’t forget to “zoom out” September 7, 2020 When threatened, human beings automatically focus intently on the danger. This amazing ability to “zoom in” is why you’re here. It kept your ancestors alive while others weren’t so lucky. In hunter-gatherer tribes, threats were short-lived but lethal. When a rival clan runs out from the trees, being focused pays off. However, what kept our [...]
The government needs to take nurseries more seriously as part of its education strategy September 1, 2020 As schools prepare to return, so soon after the A-Level fiasco, there is a huge focus on education. However, one very important part of the education sector, which has been underappreciated for too long, is that of day nurseries, pre-schools and childminders. These early learning providers cater for 2.1m children under the age of five [...]
Supporting young people’s education will create lasting value for London and the UK August 31, 2020 You’d have to be on a desert island to miss the fact that in recent weeks pupils across the capital have received their A-Level and GCSE exam results. This has been a year like no other. Not only has every school had to adapt and find new ways of working following closures forced by the [...]
History tells us now is a good time to go to university August 18, 2020 The Covid-19 pandemic has had a dramatic impact in a very short amount of time on people’s lives — worry and uncertainty continues as cases rise and fall at differing levels across the globe. And while the UK grapples with the consequences of an economic recession, people who received their A-level results last week are [...]
Future students won’t forgive universities for poor learning technology August 17, 2020 This year’s intake of undergraduates to universities around the UK are already changing the world. It is the first time where, for most of the first year, their experiences will be fuelled by often remote, digitally-driven courses rather than the typical immersion into a physical campus. Some of the UK’s higher education institutions had some [...]
University is still the safest bet to a good life August 14, 2020 Every year without fail, school leavers and their parents have to hear the boasting, masquerading as reassurance, of some of society’s success stories. Here’s Jeremy Clarkson: “I got a C and 2 Us and I’m currently building a large house with far reaching views of the Cotswolds.” Lord Sugar goes further: “University is a waste [...]
More than one third of A-level results downgraded as Gavin Williamson comes under fire August 13, 2020 Around 35 per cent of A-level results have been downgraded by one grade, figures have revealed. The students affected will receive a lower grade than their teachers predicted due to the Joint Council for Qualifications standardising the results based on historical data. Despite this, exam watchdog Ofqual has said performance across the country has been [...]
Activist investor ups stake in Pearson ahead of boardroom grab August 3, 2020 Europe’s largest activist investor has upped its stake in education publisher Pearson to almost nine per cent, signalling plans to push for a seat on the board. Swedish-based Cevian now owns 8.5 per cent of the FTSE-listed education firm, up from seven per cent a fortnight ago and making it Pearson’s third-largest investor. Cevian scours [...]