The Schools' News Service

The Swaminarayan School was ranked second in the table of top independent schools published in the Daily Telegraph this month. Considering the fact that The Swaminarayan School in Neasden has been in existence only since 1992, this achievement is nothing short of extraordinary. The school has always achieved excellent examination results and has been at [...]

Is it possible to imagine an activity enrichment week beyond all other activity enrichment weeks? In the view of some the answer is Disneyland – and I have looked at this idea with interest because I have been there and watched a number of school parties making the rounds. The one thing we sometimes forget [...]

Have you heard about the students who forgot the date of their GCSE maths exam ? They turned up for school OK, but without pens, pencils, calculator, ruler or compass ! It’s easy to assume that the existing stock of exam desks will always be enough for the new group of students who’ll be using [...]

Informing students about careers in Science. A while ago I wrote about a series of career cards for Science and got a mixed response. Some quite reasonably replied that careers were handled by the careers department and not by Science. Some readers forwarded the email on to careers. And some said that they had made [...]

Let’s face it, nowadays none of us is short of targets, initiatives and evaluations to chase. But practical solutions to achieving them are far harder to find. In fact it is a common observation among many teachers that it gets increasingly difficult to keep coming up with great ideas of one’s own. Especially if the [...]

You may well not be in Scotland but… Recently the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) contacted each local authority and each individual school in Scotland to discuss school music. I believe what they said applies as much to England as it does to Scotland. The EIS letter said that music in schools helps to develop [...]

One of the problems which can occur with Form Time is the issue of finding a variety of engaging subjects and topics that will interest the students, and have a meaningful educational impact. One can do it for one’s own specialist subject, but in other areas it can be difficult. The other issue is the [...]

I think most people would agree that being able to touch type brings huge benefits to pupils and students both at school and indeed in the world of work. Certainly, as one who learned to touch type early on, I’ve found the skill invaluable. And yet touch typing is not part of the curriculum, and [...]

Students in Bebington High Sports College are provided with the opportunities to transfer their leadership skills further through the delivery of extra-curricular clubs at their local primary schools. Liaison between Bebington High and its local feeder primary schools enables 6th former leaders to identify where their strengths lie and create a primary link that supports [...]

RECORD GCSE RESULTS FOR SCHOOLS IN LONDON HARLINGTON COMMUNITY SCHOOL NAMED AMONGST MOST IMPROVED IN CAPITAL We were delighted to be informed by the DCSF that we are amongst the most improved schools in London. The number of students achieving 5 or more A* – C passes including English and Maths improved by 13%, ranking [...]

The Tower Poetry competition is open to all sixth form students in the UK. It was first launched in 2000, and as Peter McDonald (Director of Tower Poetry and one of this year’s judges) said, “Our purpose is to ignite in teenagers the desire to experience poetry as a poet – something that can greatly [...]

Despite heavy snowfall and reports of thousands of school closures across the country, it has been business as usual for Staines Prep School this term. With only one day of the new term lost due to bad weather, staff and pupils continued to fulfil a full timetable of studies. Year 6 pupils not only braved [...]

From Hylands School, Chelmsford Table Tennis is big news at Hylands School this term! Four pupils have recently earned Hylands a place into the English Schools Table Tennis Zone Finals on Sunday, 24th January in London as winners of the Essex Schools Team Event . Brandon Crouchman and Scott Dowsett both Year 10 along with [...]

Raising Grades through Study Skills The benefits of learning how to learn for students can be overwhelming, for the natural way in which most students come to learn their work is stunningly inefficient. Those of us who are both parents and teachers will have watched our offspring supposedly revise for GCSEs and A levels when [...]

For a campaign resource pack and to take part, register now at… www.getreal.uk.com/really-good-school-dinner.html Celebrities including JLS, the Saturdays and Les Ferdinand join an all-star cast in a filmed appeal to schools, children and young people, urging them to join a United Nations campaign this month and help fight world hunger. The Really Good School Dinner, [...]

The Mathematics Department celebrated Number Day during the last week of the autumn term. Number Day is a national event that aims to get everyone involved in Maths by taking part in fun, maths-based activities, whilst raising much needed funds for charity. This year our chosen charity was CLIC Sargent – caring for children with [...]

ZigZag Education is an exciting community of over 5000 secondary teachers, FE tutors, examiners and educationalists working together on great new teaching resources. People in the community take different roles; from writing to reviewing, proof reading and checking, or just making suggestions for new resource titles. It is also a fantastic opportunity for teachers to [...]

Free homework diaries for the next academic year 2010/11 are available for all UK secondary schools while stocks last – and order lines close at the end of January 2010. Schools can order up to 500 copies each, without any charge at all. The Wise Choices? Europa diaries, which are funded by the European Commission, [...]

28 day free trial of “Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany” for the interactive whiteboard To obtain a full understanding of the rise and fall of Nazi Germany it is important for the students to be offered a narrative approach which takes them through the timeline of events. Through using animated maps, interactive diagrams and [...]

The Schools Minister in England Vernon Coaker has said that although school surplus balances have fallen for the first time since 2002-03 there are still schools holding back money that they should be spending. Just over 7,000 schools have surpluses over the allowed limit and if these are carried forward into 2009/10 they are in [...]

One of the biggest problems with revision is that even saying the word ‘revise’ causes some pupils to put up emotional barriers and struggle to know what to do. Sometimes their reaction is to put off doing revision and this in the end causes stress. For others, they worry and get stressed about disappointing parents [...]

When I was in the 6th form (way back in the last century) I was shown a copy of New Scientist by the head of physics. I was stunned, and immediately cancelled my copy of Football Weekly at the newsagent and ordered New Scientist instead. Sadly for me (although happily for the news agent) I [...]

Outward Bound offer a series of bursaries – and indeed around half of the people who go on Outward Bound courses get some help towards the fees. The benefits to young people’s skills, their personal development and their motivations are… They achieve beyond their expectations. (This helps to improve their attitude towards learning, their motivation, [...]

During the Christmas holidays it was announced that each local authority secondary school in England will receive 15 books from a list of 260 – free of charge. This includes traditional and modern classics, as well as fact-based titles. Schools where more than 30% of children are on free school meals will be able to [...]

The Ultimate School Life Balance – studying for GCSE’s and planning the School Prom! While teaching staff prepare their students for the all important GCSE exams – students are planning what to wear at the 2010 school prom! Of course, it’s all a little light relief at the end of a high pressure year – [...]

During the Christmas holidays news emerged that the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) contacted each local authority and the individual schools in Scotland over the issue of music education services. The EIS noted that its charter highlights the value of music education and calls for proper support and funding. In reply the local authority umbrella [...]

“OUTSTANDING” OFSTED REPORT FOR NORTHAMPTONSHIRE PREPARATORY SCHOOL Winchester House School, on the Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire borders has been given the highest possible rating of outstanding by Ofsted. The official body judged the provision of services by Winchester House as being of, “exceptionally high quality” following a visit to the school and discussions with parents, pupils [...]

Teachers should ensure that children are introduced to a broad range of different poetic forms during their time at school, a former Poet Laureate has claimed. In an address to the North of England Education Conference, currently being held in York, Sir Andrew Motion said teachers too often resort to ‘easy options’ when encouraging pupils [...]

Having looked at the ways in which students revise I’ve reached three conclusions. Firstly, students who have their own handy, pocket-sized book containing all the necessary revision material, which they can mark up as they wish, tend to do best. Secondly, there are the sample exam papers. The more of these the students can do, [...]

The Schools Minister in England Vernon Coaker has said that although school surplus balances have fallen for the first time since 2002-03 there are still schools holding back money that they should be spending. Just over 7,000 schools have surpluses over the allowed limit and if these are carried forward into 2009/10 they are in [...]

Making a recording of children in the school can be a highly beneficial and exciting project. Not only does it raise the profile of music within school and act as a catalyst to get children developing their musical skills, but the most striking factor is that it is also such an enjoyable and memorable experience [...]

A big problem with Religious Education is that many students think it’s irrelevant to their lives. While some students have religious convictions many do not, and for such students the result is often a lack of interest in RE. One way to generate real excitement about RE is to link it with other curriculum subjects [...]

In consultation with teachers, and with experts from both sides, we have prepared talks which give a balanced yet factual look at the issues involved. The talks, given by knowledgeable, articulate and lively speakers, can be provided in accordance with the requests from individual schools. New! In addition, we are now offering sessions for teachers, [...]

Thomas Wolsey – The King’s Cardinal Examination questions on Thomas Wolsey and his ministry are set by OCR, Edexcel and AQA. The questions set by the examination boards require students to explain events and attitudes relating to Wolsey’s rise and ministry or to give their own view on a historical debate or interpretation. This 40 [...]

How do you convert predicted D grades to C and above? You know the situation. Everything’s been done, all interventions applied and everyone has worked hard at motivating that cohort of underperforming students. And still their grades won’t budge. The reason is not hard to find, because the same problem keeps re-appearing. These students remain [...]

How to teach general studies One of the great problems with general studies is the sheer breadth of the subject – the range of possibilities is endless. In teaching the subject I have found that a topic that goes down well with one group of students fails to raise any interest with another group. Maybe [...]

The School Protective Aprons protect student clothing against spilled items. They are tough but comfortable with an elasticated waistband. Over 100,000 have been supplied to schools since we launched the range. The aprons are available in heavy-duty cotton drill, in navy or white, and can be supplied with or without pockets. Sample apron: If you [...]