Main event of the day: your big opportunity to find out what David Willetts thinks he's up to. Yes, the universities minister will be live online, from 4.15pm.
Already questions are piling up - here are some of the pithier ones:
"Do you think it was appropriate for you to award university status to businesses that are under investigation in the US for admissions and financial aid fraud?"
"When are you going to announce if early repayment of loans will incur a penalty?"
"When students apply through UCAS for university places, why does the application contain a lengthy piece regarding the type of school the student attends?"
"Are you prepared to state categorically that student debt will never be sold to a private company?"
"What u talkin' about, Willetts?"
If there's something you'd like to know, get in there.
More education news from the Guardian
• What happens to the education of autistic young people when they reach 19? Pretty much nothing, is the unfortunate answer. Amelia Gentleman has been discussing the problem with Victoria Bovell, whose son Danny has reached school-leaving age. When he was younger, Bovell set up Treehouse, a pioneering school for autistic children, and she is now determined to establish a further education college. Bovell says:
"Dedicated teaching staff say that one of the saddest, most frustrating aspects of their job is that they put in all this effort and see all this progress for a young person at school and then find it totally heartbreaking to see that nothing was available afterwards."
She's determined that her son will not be left to watch TV all day with people three times his age.
• English 15-year-olds are more than a year behind their counterparts in Shanghai when it comes to reading. Commenting on the research, carried out for the DfE, schools minister Nick Gibb says:
"The gulf between our 15-year-olds' reading abilities and those from other countries is stark - a gap that starts to open in the very first few years of a child's education. The government's focus on raising standards of reading in the early years of primary school is key to closing that gap."
• A medical student has her say on the NHS reforms.
• The edible schoolyard: over the last 20 years, top US chef Alice Waters has been instrumental in turning asphalt schoolyards into educational allotments tended by pupils.
Guardian blog of the day
It's the moment every tube passenger dreads: a bunch of lively teenagers heads for your carriage accompanied by a clearly out-of-control teacher. Fielding (ex-teacher, star blogger) reckons it's the perfect chance to have a little fun with vinegar-faced commuters.
Education news around the web
• Tension between the government and the exam boards is ratcheted up by this morning's Telegraph story - Mark Dawe, chief executive of OCR, says trying to force all children to study academic subjects will alienate thousands of pupils who are more suited to vocational qualifications:
"If we drive this academic route and nothing else we are going to be left with a system of mass failure."
• Susan Young (@susanyoung_) blogs about the U-turn in the education bill that the government was hoping to sweep under the carpet - the amendment "simply instructs that clauses 30 and 31 be left out. These were the clauses which removed the duty of schools to work co-operatively with other frontline services for children."
• The University of Wales degree scandal moves on again. The BBC reports that the university has set up an email helpline to assist hundreds of students from the suddenly shut Tasmac London School of Business, which had been awarding UoW degrees. And the THE says the Welsh education minister has called for the chair of the council of the University of Wales, Hugh Thomas, to "consider his position". It quotes Leighton Andrews as saying it is "untenable for the University of Wales to continue under its current leadership".
• Mike Baker (@mikebakeredhack) asks: where are the parent-led free schools? They seem to be very much in the minority in the government's latest annoucement of approved schools.
• The NUS's Debbie McVitty (@debbie_mcvitty) blogs for Wonkhe on what university is "for":
"To acknowledge the rich variety of career prospects – in the professions, in self-employment, in business and in the public and private sectors – available to university graduates in today's knowledge economy is not to render universities utilitarian in purpose. Instead it is to understand how universities enable graduates to embark on careers where you get to use the brain you have worked so hard to develop."
• The Daily Mail reports on children being woken at 5am to study by parents who'll do anything to get their offspring into grammar school, including spend £100 an hour on tutors.
• Opera singer Sir Thomas Allen is to replace Bill Bryson as the new chancellor of Durham University. (Thanks @palatinateUK.)
On the Guardian Teacher Network
• Why I swapped life as a city banker for the classroom.
• The Amnesty International young human rights reporter of the year competition 2012.
• Plus loads of free teaching resources - perfect for NQTs and trainee teachers.
Education seminars from Guardian Professional
The Guardian Teacher Network runs training sessions for teachers throughout the year in Yorkshire and London. Upcoming courses include:
Is your school thinking of becoming an academy?
This seminar will provide an independent view of the advantages and disadvantages of converting to academy status. It will look at the process of conversion, the implications of academy status, and the support and funding available. November 30, in London. February 21, 2012 in Yorkshire
Protecting young people in a digital age
Led by school digital safety experts, this one-day course will provide safeguarding policy and Ofsted criteria updates, as well as looking at social media and offering practical advice to help your school develop its digital safety policies. February 1, 2012 in London. February 8, 2012 in Yorkshire.
Teachers seminars from the Guardian Education Centre
Reading for pleasure – bringing classics to life
This half-day conference for secondary school teachers will explore the use and teaching of classic books from Dickens and beyond. Keynote speakers will be Simon Callow, actor and Dickens enthusiast and Judy Golding, daughter of William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies.
20 October, London
Insight into digital journalism
Spend a day at the Guardian and find out how an international news media organisation works. The seminar will focus on aspects of digital journalism including writing and editing for a news website, the relationship between print and web journalism, live blogging, the use of social media, podcasting and video production.
2 November, Kings Place, London
Find us on the Guardian website
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Guardian Teacher Network on Twitter
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EducationGuardian resources
The Guardian University Guide 2011
The Guardian Postgraduate Guide 2011
The world's top 100 universities
Updating table of university fee announcements for 2012
From Guardian Professional
The Higher Education Network for university professionals
Free online classroom resources on the Teacher Network
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