Boarding school fees 'now higher than average salary'

The cost of a private boarding education has surged above the average annual wage for the first time amid fresh concerns about rising independent school fees.

The Good Schools Guide said the price of boarding had soared relative to average earnings as it launched a dedicated bursaries advice service.

An analysis by The Good Schools Guide shows that parents face paying £27,600 a year for each child enrolled in a fee-paying boarding school.

It is the first time that the annual cost of boarding has risen higher than the UK average salary, which currently stands at £26,500.

US universities 'seeking to recruit more British students'

American universities are embarking on a major recruitment drive in Britain amid a surge in demand for degree courses on the other side of the Atlantic.

More American universities are set to attend the US College Day fair in London this week.

The number of US institutions marketing themselves to British students has almost doubled in just four years in a bid to capitalise on mounting interest in overseas study combined with a backlash over rising tuition fees in the UK.

More than 9,000 British students took higher education courses in the US in 2011/12 – the latest available data – but it is believed that numbers will soar much higher in 2013 and 2014.

Leading academic criticises 'Victorian'-style curriculum

Children risk missing out on the arts, humanities and sport at primary school because of a “neo-Victorian” focus on the three-Rs, according to one of the country’s leading experts on early education.

Prof Robin Alexander criticised the new National Curriculum, saying it placed too much emphasis on the three-Rs.

A new National Curriculum introduced by the Coalition will narrow pupils’ horizons by failing to give them the “knowledge, skills and experience” needed in all subjects, it was claimed.

Robin Alexander, fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge, and professor of education at York University, said that literacy and numeracy provided a vital foundation for children’s future lives.

Schools told to run parenting classes and measure happiness

Schools are being told to organise parenting classes for the pupils’ parents to ensure teenagers have a stable home life under official health guidelines published today.

Schools told to run parenting classes and measure happiness under new official guidelines

They are also being advised that they should “systematically measure” children’s happiness levels to stop them going off the rails.

And, as well as carrying out health and safety risk assessments for school trips and other activities they should also assess how extra curricular activities affect children’s “emotional well-being”.

Teaching children to 'lose graciously' promotes resilience

Schools should teach pupils to “lose graciously” because too many children are growing up with an inhibiting fear of rejection, leading headmasters warned today.

Children should be taught to lose because 'coming second' is a valuable life skill, according to the Independent Association of Prep Schools.

Children should learn basic etiquette before and after sporting fixtures – such as shaking hands and cheering on the opposition – to soften blow of coming second, it was claimed.

Eddy Newton, chairman of the Independent Association of Prep Schools, said the best schools promoted success and competition but also encouraged the “life lessons of coping with defeat or a lack of success”.

Weakest pupils ‘suffer crisis of confidence in top schools'

Parents should avoid sending their less intelligent children to top-performing schools to prevent them languishing at the bottom of the class, researchers warned today.

The loss of confidence associated with being at the bottom of the class can have serious long-term implications for pupils, according to LSE researchers.

Children who fall behind bright classmates at primary school can suffer a serious loss of confidence that holds them back for several years, it is claimed.

The study – by the London School of Economics – found that pupils’ relative ranking in the classroom up to the age of 11 had “sizeable, robust and significant effects on later academic achievement” at secondary school.

Coalition's free schools concentrated in Labor areas

More of the Coalition’s free schools have been opened in areas controlled by Labor than any other political party, new figures show.

Free schools are more likely to be opened in Labour areas, figures show.

Almost half of the schools have been established in towns and cities with Labor MPs, despite the party’s opposition to the reforms, it emerged.

Figures also show that half of free schools are in areas under the control of Labor local authorities.