Month: April 2010

Guide to party election policies What should the UK’s approach to immigration be? Some believe that it boosts the economy and has made UK into a truly multicultural country. But others say that the arrival of large numbers in recent years has put a strain on hospitals, schools and transport in some places and created […]

Universities UK has signalled unhappiness with the government over “poor quality” student visa rules by advising institutions not to apply to become a “highly trusted sponsor” and by venting its criticisms in Parliament. Higher education institutions have a deadline of 30 June to apply for the sponsor scheme, which is part of a tightening of […]

The number of children being taught in independent schools in the UK has fallen, annual figures show. The Independent Schools Council (ISC) census showed 511,886 pupils were being privately educated, compared with 514,531 last year – a fall of 0.6%. Considering the economic downturn, the figures were described by the private schools body as a […]

Conservative plans to allow schools to break free of local council control have been publicly endorsed by some of the leading state head teachers in England By Graeme Paton, Education Editor In a letter to The Daily Telegraph, 31 heads and governors back a Conservative pledge to give high-performing state schools autonomy within months of […]

Education in London could be hit with widespread disruption on Wednesday 5 May as members of UCU take industrial action over massive funding cuts that are threatening jobs across the capital. Eleven further education colleges* today returned ballots that all backed strike action. The news comes hot on the heels of votes at the University […]

College principals’ average pay rose 56% in the last eight years to nearly £120,000, figures suggest. Over the same time, further education college teachers’ pay rose by almost half as much or 23.4%, the University and College Union says.Coming as hundreds of college staff face redundancy, the figures expose the sector to ridicule, the union […]

More than 40,000 extra foreign students were allowed into the UK from just seven countries last year casting new doubt on the effectiveness of the Government’s “tough” new visa system. Official Home Office figures show 100,000 student visas were granted in the academic year to September 2009 – an increase of almost 40,000 on the […]

The dropout rate among students at Scottish universities is higher than the UK average, figures show. Some 9.9% of students in their first year dropped out in Scotland in the year 2008/09, compared with 8.6% across the UK as a whole. The Higher Education Statistics Agency (Hesa) figures also suggest pupils from state schools are […]

Who is affected when a college Tier 4 licence is suspended?   Students on Tier 4 visas  What the UK Border Agency says:  ‘Before you travel to the UK. If you have a visa letter that you got before your approved education provider’s license was suspended, and have already been granted permission to enter the United […]

Child student  You can apply as a child student if you are between 4 and 17 years old. If you are between 4 and 15 years old, you must be coming to the UK to be educated at an independent fee-paying school. Child visitor You can apply as a child visitor if you are 17 years old […]