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BBC News - Education & Family

University offers 'ignore context' Many UK universities do not consider candidates' backgrounds when offering places, research suggests.

Poor pupil cash 'plugging budgets' A report claims schools are facing increasing pressure to spend money aimed at very poor pupils, known as the pupil premium, to plug holes in their budgets.

A-level confusion 'unacceptable' Confusion over an A-level maths paper set by exam board Edexcel is completely unacceptable, says the chair of the education select committee, Graham Stuart.

£42k pay rise sparks uni occupation A group of Warwick students occupy university buildings in protest at the £42,000 pay rise for its vice-chancellor.

Schools reading contest: e-books win Nearly half the titles read by children in a national reading competition were consumed online, according to the charity Booktrust.

Minister hails 'web porn' progress Ministers say agreements reached with internet firms will lead to a "fundamental change" in how images of child abuse are dealt with online.

'Cut a third' of education services The 22 education services running schools in Wales should be cut by a third, a review recommends.

Shot girl wants education priority Pakistani schoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai is to lead calls for education to become a top priority.

No extra free schools, says Labour Labour would keep open existing free schools but would not open any more, says Stephen Twigg. He also says all state schools in England should have the independence given to academies.

Top unis 'now less socially diverse' A report on social mobility claims the UK's leading universities have become less socially representative in the past decade, not more.

Science plan lands 'star' researcher A £50m project to attract world-class scientists to Wales makes its first appointment - a leading stem cell researcher looking at diseases of the nervous system.

Signing 'should be foreign language' A charity calls for British Sign Language to count as a modern foreign language at GCSE.

Free school pioneers offer advice Dozens of groups aiming to open free schools next year are meeting to get tips from pioneers of the movement, the West London Free School.

Head teachers recognised in honours Five head teachers have been knighted or made dames in this year's Queen's Birthday Honours.

Hard-working fathers cut their hours Hard-working fathers are cutting their long working hours, while mothers are working more, researchers say.

Summer-borns 'need flexi-term start' Parents should be able to exercise their right to a later school start for their summer-born children.

Second grammar wants to open annexe A second grammar school is consulting on opening an annexe in Sevenoaks after a campaign by parents to expand selective provision in Kent.

Fukushima's lessons from nuclear disaster How do you re-build an education system destroyed by a disaster? Andreas Schleicher describes the efforts in Fukushima.

India's ancient university returns to life University in northern India accepts first new students for 800 years

Is a paperless library still a library? The world's first bookless public library

How Estonia became E-stonia Estonian pupils are taught computer skills from an early age as the internet is seen as symbolic of political independence.

The world's most sleep-starved students How lack of sleep is damaging pupils' learning around the world

Suu Kyi asks UK to help universities Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi is calling on Britain to help rebuild Burma's universities, which she says have been ruined by military rule

Jimmy Wales: 'Dull lectures doomed' Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales predicts the death of student boredom

Human extinction warning from Oxford What are the greatest global threats to the future of humanity? An international team from Oxford University's Future of Humanity Institute is investigating the biggest dangers.

God vow dropped from Guides' promise Girls will no longer have to pledge their devotion to God when they join the Guides and Brownies in the UK, the organisation announces.

Belfast pupils inspired by schoolmate's poignant speech Methodist College students report on the reaction to a speech about the future of Northern Ireland made by their schoolmate Hannah in front of an audience including President Obama and the First Lady.

Call to learn basic algebra at seven At seven, pupils should know their tables up to 10 and be introduced to basic algebra, argues a study.

Missing exam paper sparks re-sit row The loss of an A-level exam paper in Amsterdam has led to calls for a free re-sit from students who sat the replacement paper.

Elizabethan child actors 'kidnapped' A study from the University of Oxford reveals widespread cruelty and exploitation in the treatment of child actors in Elizabethan theatres.

Improvement in teacher job prospects Almost half of newly qualified teachers have found full-time permanent jobs since August last year, research suggests.

Schools 'failing brightest pupils' A culture of low expectations is letting down bright children in England's non-selective secondary schools, Ofsted chief inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw says.

One in six children in poverty At least one out of every six children in the UK lives in relative poverty, according to data released by the Department for Work and Pensions.

Talks aim to improve poor home care Care minister Norman Lamb is holding talks to discuss what he says is a crisis in care of the elderly and disabled at home.

Call to ban sales on maternity wards Reps who sell to new mothers on hospital wards in the UK should be banned, the online parenting forum Mumsnet has urged.

Nursery ratio climb down confirmed Plans to let nurseries and childminders in England look after more children have been abandoned, the Education Minister Elizabeth Truss has confirmed.

VIDEO: Mums' concerns over web safety Parents and staff from Parentzone explain how they would like to make the internet safer for children.

VIDEO: Gove GCSE plans are 'just tinkering' Journalist and education activist Fiona Millar called for a full English baccalaureate as she claimed Michael Gove's plans to reform GCSEs were "just tinkering with a redundant system".

VIDEO: Living with a child genius Many parents may secretly think their child is a genius but Michelle Goodwill's son, Alex, is the real thing.

VIDEO: Sanctions hit Iranians studying abroad Economic sanctions imposed on Iran by the West which have a direct impact on money transfers are making it harder for Iranians to study in the US.

Bail out universities rather than banks? Bail out universities and not the banks?

Mother's abortion 'over visa rules' UK women on how visa rules are affecting family life

Why mark out of 8? Why mark out of 8?

Scotland 'moving away' from exams Scotland 'moving away' from exams

How Troops to Teachers came about Troops to Teachers, from think-tank to classroom

Primary education news, SATS results, UK schools

Read For My School scheme is a winner Winners of competition encouraging 100,000 English school pupils to read more than 400,000 books announced.

International pupils: boarders from beyond our borders Overseas students are good for British schools - and British pupils - says Christopher Middleton.

Lord Adonis: The academies programme will continue to flourish under Labour Labour will enable more parent-led academies, like the West London Free School, to be established where there is a local demand for places, Lord Adonis writes.

Labour backs free schools 'under a different name' Labour's education reforms will allow the creation of more free schools, former minister Andrew Adonis has said.

Teaching unions must keep their toys in the pram Michael Gove's reforms have been met with rude, defensive derision by the unions. But this reception is unprofessional and unhelpful, says headteacher Roderick MacKinnon.

Labour backs creation of free schools in new policy switch Labour is preparing to drop its blanket opposition to free schools in a further major change in policy.

Are teachers doing the best for the best pupils? The biggest thing holding back bright pupils is the limiting structure of GCSEs, says comprehensive teacher Francis Gilbert.

D'oh! Kids cartoons slammed for portraying Dads as lazy or stupid The Simpsons and other children's TV shows have been branded "discriminatory" for portraying Dads as lazy or stupid.

Liverpool: a city of absent fathers One million children live in 'men deserts' and nowhere is worse-hit than the Merseyside port, says Peter Stanford

Rote learning is fine - there's just too much stuff to teach Michael Gove believes pupils "should be taught a robust core of knowledge and facts and information". But you can learn too much too young, argues headmaster Peter Tait.

Of course there's a good state education - if you can afford it Sought-after state schools are now strictly for the well-off, says Graeme Archer

I Levels: so, the English Baccalaureate isn't dead after all? While we must wait for the full details, it appears as though the new "I Levels" are rising phoenix-like from the ashes of the EBC proposals, says Chris Skidmore.

Malorie Blackman is a great choice to inspire children Malorie Blackman, author of the Noughts & Crosses, has the wit and passion to be a fantastic Children's Laureate for 2013-2015, says Martin Chilton.

Malorie Blackman is new Children's Laureate Malorie Blackman, author of the Noughts & Crosses books, succeeds Julia Donaldson as the Children's Laureate for 2013-2015.

Pupils forced to turn to TV and internet for careers advice Schoolchildren are turning to television programmes for careers guidance because large numbers of schools are failing to provide decent advice, according to research.

The prep school with real family values A stately pile in Shropshire houses a family-run prep school untouched by time. Katy Rink visits the Englehearts at home, and work, at Moffats.

Mobile phone 'text-speak' boosts children's language skills Children should be taught "text-speak" at school to prepare them for the demands of studying a foreign language, according to one of Europe's top linguists.

Laura Perrins: Our education system fails even its best students Academics may be at loggerheads with Michael Gove over changes to the curriculum, but stay-at-home mother Laura Perrins says reform is vital if our children are to get a better chance of success in life.

What do you do with a love of children and a hatred of places to take them? Set up a private members' kids club Maggie & Rose, the first UK private members' club for kids, could easily sound like two society girls playing at shop. But, says Beverley Turner, it's a serious business model.

Hard-to-read fonts 'can boost pupil results by up to a fifth' Dyslexic children can dramatically improve their performance at school by reading in a difficult font.

Too much, too young? Why Gove's reforms 'spell danger' When 100 leading academics criticised curriculum reforms, the Education Secretary accused them of "bad academia". Michael Bassey responds.

Schools told: vet sports day volunteers to root out abusers Volunteers at school sports days should be subject to rigorous vetting procedures including face-to-face interviews and background checks to root out potential child abusers, according to guidance.

Students handed bursaries to train as nursery teachers School leavers will claim up to £1,800 to work in nurseries under Government plans to raise the status of the childcare profession, it was announced today.

Pupils 'name-dropping their mothers in short stories' It's a generation with unprecedented access to pop stars, actors, sportsmen and TV presenters. But it appears that today's children still look much closer to home when it comes to finding inspiration.

Eton head in drive for network of state boarding schools A network of state boarding schools is being planned to ease pressure on busy families and boost exam results under reforms driven by the headmaster of Eton College.