Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Cribsheet 01.06.11

 Archaeologists believe that they have solved the mystery of ancient mound near Marlborough college in Wiltshire. Photograph: Steven Vaux /Marlborough College

• Marlborough's mound mystery has been solved – after 4,400 years. A hill in the grounds of the elite Wiltshire school which is fondly known as Silbury's little sister has been revealed as an important neolithic monument.


• The police are now saying that Jody McIntyre was pulled from his wheelchair 'for his own safety' at last year's tuition fees protests. But he had every right to leave the protests unharmed, says Sarah Ismail.


• Mary O'Hara talks to Anne Longfield, the chief executive of the charity 4Children, about taking the lead on early years policy.


• Richard Wilson has written a fascinating blog for Index on Censorship in which he poses the questions: why would a London primary school employ the services of a political lobbying firm — and libel lawyers Carter Ruck?


Earlier this year I got an intriguing tip-off about one of the government's flagship Academy schools, Durand Primary School in Stockwell, South London. I emailed the school to get their side of the story. Less than half an hour later I had a somewhat stern reply:

I'd like to invite you to visit the school and hope you'd accept our offer before writing anything. We would be extremely unhappy if you didn't take us up on this and as always, we protect the reputation of our school — which provides outstanding education to 930 children — vigorously.


The message had come from a durandeducation.org email address, but the person who'd sent it hadn't mentioned their job title, so I googled her name. I was surprised to find her listed as an employee of a PR company called "Political Lobbying and Media Relations" (PLMR).

It's a fascinating tale. You can read on here.

• Newport has become the fifth Welsh university to announce that it will charge the maximum £9,000 fees next year, the BBC has reported. However, this will not affect Welsh students as any fees over £3,400 are paid by the government. President of the NUS, Katie Dalton, said it was imperative that the Welsh government continued to pay the fees, but the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) is considering its response to the new fee levels and will announce its decision on 11 July.


• A 10-year-old schoolgirl who took a bag of Haribo sweets to school inadvertantly attempted to share her drug-dealing father's cocaine stash, according to a report in The Sun newspaper.

The bag was already open and the girl said she thought the drug was sherbet wrapped in cling film, but a teacher suspected otherwise and confiscated the powder.

This challenge goes out to all the science teachers out there: @DrF4chem AKA Anne Fielder: 1 sperm has 37.5 MB of DNA info. normal ejacn represents data transfer of 1,587 GB in 3seconds. Get that into next biol lesson.*


(*Please note this is a twitter 'fact'. Cribsheet couldn't find a scientific source to back it up. Please correct the data before you pass it on to the nation's youth.)


Consultation on the Admissions Code opened on Friday – anyone wanting to have their say has until 19 August to do so. Interested parties can respond online by answering 14 multi-choice questions, or download and fill in a paper form.


Reading for Pleasure


This half-day conference for primary school teachers will help you inspire students to read with pleasure and maintain the reading habit. Andy Stanton, author of the Mr Gum series, will be joined by Julia Eccleshare, Guardian children's books editor, and reading development experts. Time: 1 July, 9.15-12.45. Cost: £48, including refreshments and resources


Insight into Journalism: investigative and features journalism


This seminar, part of our popular Insight into Journalism series, gives secondary school teachers and college tutors the chance to spend a day at the Guardian. You'll meet specialist journalists from the investigations team, find out from writers what makes a good features article and learn about commissioning, editing and interview techniques. Time: 8 July, 9.15-4.30. Cost: £72, including lunch and resources


Making the most of media opportunities to enhance your school's profile


Whether it's sharing good news or handling a crisis, headteachers and school management teams need to be able to handle the media in all of its forms. This one-day seminar in association with the NAHT is essential for new and aspiring heads as well as established school leaders who wish to update their knowledge. It includes a session on social media, 13 June, Birmingham and 20 September, London


Distinctiveness and branding in higher education


Higher education institutions will struggle in the marketplace unless they stand out from competitors and make sense to stakeholders. The Guardian's half-day seminar in partnership with the Leadership Foundation for Higher Education will explore what it takes to develop and maintain a distinctive brand that attracts students, staff and funders. Participants will hear from experts, examine case studies and have the opportunity to network with peers, 28 June, London


EducationGuardian.co.uk


All today's EducationGuardian stories


EducationGuardian on Twitter


Judy Friedberg on Twitter


Jeevan Vasagar on Twitter


Jessica Shepherd on Twitter


Claire Phipps on Twitter


EducationGuardian on Facebook


The Guardian University Guide 2011


The Guardian Postgraduate Guide 2011


School league tables


The world's top 100 universities


Updating table of university fee announcements for 2012


The Higher Education Network for university professionals


Free online classroom resources on the Teacher Network


Job vacancies in education


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Judy Friedberg is currently on holiday, so for the next two weeks I will be writing cribsheet and I am always happy to hear from readers with story ideas. You can email me via my Guardian email. And follow me on twitter at FDWhitehead

reff:guardian.co.uk

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