The Murdochs may have apologised for phone hacking, but what about the damage their papers have done to decades of schoolchildren, ex-teacher and ace blogger Fielding wants to know.
Their voices "infect the classroom like a Bleak House fog. Pervasive. Corrosive. Mephitic," he declares.
"I used to fight them with literature, with a bit of Orwell. I used to bin the Sun on sight and rage like a loony Leavis - at the lynch mob rage, the rancid sexism, the warped lexicon, the reinforcement of restricted speech codes."
Can we blame the tabloid press for prejudice and persecution at schools? Join the debate on the blog.
• The big story of the day, of course, is Simon Hughes's call for university scholarships to be offered through state schools - on average three per school - so that low-income pupils could aim from the age of 15 to win one.
The Russell Group's Wendy Piatt says:
"Russell Group universities already have a strong track-record of pumping millions of pounds into access initiatives including building extensive links with schools and colleges, offering intensive summer schools and providing substantial financial aid for the least advantaged students … It will be more productive to build on the most successful of these initiatives rather than calling on universities to implement untried new schemes."
@patmcfaddenmp says:
"Re Simon Hughes, scholarships etc. More should certainly be done here but the key issue is improving performance at school."
The TUC's @unionnewswire tweets:
"Simon Hughes's access report is too late and has all the authority of the Lib Dems' fee pledge."
@RogerHelmerMEP asks:
"Memo to Simon Hughes: Shouldn't university admissions be based on academic ability, not relative poverty?"
• Thousands of vocational qualifications which do not offer pupils a chance to go on to further study after 16 are due to be stripped out of school league tables, the government has announced. Jeevan Vasagar writes:
"Qualifications such as an NVQ level 2 in hairdressing, which is worth the equivalent of six GCSEs, and an OCR level 2 national certificate in travel and tourism - worth four GCSEs - are likely to be ditched."
• Rick Muir takes a detailed look at Michael Gove's funding proposals for schools, and warns against creating a highly centralised system under the direct control of the education secretary.
As the summer holiday gets off to a drizzly start, my colleagues over in books have come up with something for the whole family: a quiz about characters in popular books for children. So if your children say they're good mates with William, Matilda, Harry and Lola, put them to the test.
• Sir Patrick Stewart, illustrious thesp and Huddersfield University's chancellor, has accused the government of being "out of touch" with how £9,000-a-year fees will deter students. He tells the Yorkshire Post that some universities are raising fees to simply boost their income and warns it is "madness" for the government to withdraw state funding for degree subjects which help boost the country's economy.
"We are convinced that the increase in tuition fees is going to have a detrimental impact on those young people from our local schools which this university has made strong attempts to attract to Huddersfield."
(Thanks to @VC_UEL for link.)
• Postgraduates are being priced out by tuition fee rises, the THE reports, based on the National Survey of UK Tuition Fees. Rises in taught postgraduate fees for home and EU students outstrip increases for non-EU postgraduates and undergraduates.
• A multicultural school in Surrey is having a rethink about the language it uses. "We have to be careful with words that the children don't recognise, like 'mufti day' and 'inset day', by calling them 'non-uniform day' and 'teacher training day'," says Janet Lightfoot, headteacher of St Matthew's School in Redhill, whose pupils speak 43 languages, from Spanish to Shona.
• A Steiner school is facing a compensation payout of up to £100,000 to a whistle-blowing teacher after ignoring her complaint about an alleged assault on her daughter, the Telegraph reports. According to the article, Jennifer Aniston, Annie Lennox and Emma Freud are all former Steiner school pupils.
• North Chadderton school gets a Guinness World Record certificate for holding the biggest maths class - thanks to @atkins_benjamin for tweeting.
The Guardian would like to highlight your pupils' GCSE and A-level success this summer. We are asking schools to respond to a few quick questions about their pupils' results as soon as you receive them - on 18 August for A-levels and 25 August for GCSEs. Please take a note of the following web pages and return to them to fill in your results on those days:
Tell us your GCSE results
Tell us your A-level results
We want to tell our readers how well your pupils have performed and are looking forward to mapping the success of young people across the country.
Thinking about doing a PhD?
This seminar will provide independent advice and information on framing a research proposal, the process and pitfalls of a research degree and career prospects.
9 September, London.
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.
20 September, London.
Using social media to enhance the student experience
As tuition fees rise, so too do student expectations. Social media is an effective, low-cost way to manage this challenge. This seminar will explore newly conceived best practice, techniques and strategy for all higher education staff: academic, communications, recruitment, marketing and strategy.
22 September, London.
Life after a PhD
Whether it's getting published, convincing an employer that you have transferable skills, or securing an academic post, you need to be fully prepared to achieve your goals. This course will help you identify career opportunities for those with research skills and specialist knowledge.
4-5 October, London.
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