Secondary school student numbers set to rise

Secondary school student numbers set to rise – weekly news review

Hundreds and thousands — The number of students at state schools in England is set to rise by nearly one million within a decade, according to the Office for National Statistics. Photograph: Alamy

News in brief

The squeeze on primary school places will soon be felt in secondary schools, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics. It predicts the number of students in state schools in England will rise by nearly one million within a decade, with the most rapid increase in London. The sharp rise is due to the recent baby boom and population growth.
Ofsted has spoken out against claims that it failed to identify problems in the Birmingham Trojan Horse schools. A report released by a group of MPs questioned Ofsted’s judgement after they rated two of the schools as outstanding before they were downgraded to inadequate. In response, the education watchdog said it acted “without fear or favour” when inspecting schools.
When it comes to students’ wellbeing headteachers are more worried about mental health than anything else, according to a survey conducted of more than 1,000 school leaders. The teachers, polled by The Key – a membership organisation that provides management support for schools – cited cyberbullying and domestic violence as other big concerns.
Parents and teachers around the country have criticised robotic and impersonal end-of-term school reports produced by computer-generated software. One Mumsnet contributor wrote that her daughters in different years brought home nearly identical reports. Another said: “[My son’s] report said ‘Well done Thomas’ at the end of one paragraph. His name’s not anywhere near being Thomas.”

Research of the week

The Sutton Trust has examined 34 academy chains, finding that 26 of them had schools that could be seen to be “coasting” under new government guidelines.

However, the study by Prof Merryn Hutchings, Prof Becky Francis and Dr Philip Kirby also found that successful academy chains produced strong results for disadvantaged students; almost a third of them outperformed the average for all state-funded secondary schools.

ARK schools, a chain which has academies across England, was the top performer for helping disadvantaged students. Other chains including Outwood Grange in Yorkshire also did well.

The Sutton Trust is now urging the government to include a measure of attainment for disadvantaged students in its new criteria for coasting schools.

Sir Peter Lampl, founder and chairman of the Sutton Trust and of the Education Endowment Foundation, said: “Our report suggests that, while there have been some outstanding performers, many chain sponsors, despite several years in charge of their schools, continue to struggle to improve the outcomes of their most disadvantaged students.”

Snapshot of the week

What are you up to over the summer? We want to hear about your projects, plans and more. Thanks to Mrs A Ingram (@teach_ingram) for sharing her holiday objectives: to crab and chill.

@GuardianTeach Crabbing. Chilling. Family time. Reading. Researching. Planning the 'to do list' for the other 5 weeks pic.twitter.com/NK92pGtao6
— Mrs A Ingram (@teach_ingram) July 22, 2015

The week in numbers

New data shows that students aged between 11 and 15 are more likely to have tried electronic cigarettes than smoking. The Health and Social Care Information Centre data also showed only 2.5% had tried legal highs.

Dates to remember

International Day of Friendship takes place on Thursday 30 July. Elsewhere, the author of the beloved Harry Potter series, JK Rowling, was born on 31 July 1965 in Wales. She famously penned tales of the boy wizard during a delayed train journey between Manchester and London King’s Cross.