education

Over 98 per cent of Devon children get one of their preferred primary schools

More than 98 per cent of Devon’s five-year-old children have been offered a place at one of their preferred primary schools this year.

94.7 per cent of the families who applied to Devon County Council have been offered their first choice school.

Three per cent have been offered their second choice and 0.45 per cent their third option.

That’s despite an increase in the number of children requiring places across the county.

Altogether, 7,764 children have been offered places compared with 7,601 last year.

Devon’s Head of Education, Sue Clarke, said: “I...

Award will link business with academia

A University of Exeter Medical School scientist has received a prestigious Industry Fellowship award, aimed at connecting Academia and Industry. Andrew Randall, Professor of Applied Neurophysiology in the Institute of Biomedical and Clinical Science, was granted the award by the Royal Society. It allows him to forge new collaborations with Lilly UK, the Surrey-based arm of the international pharmaceuticals company Eli Lilly. The research concerns cutting-edge imaging and how it can be applied to understanding dementia. Prof Randall said: “This is a key element in furthering our...

Exeter College, Oxford and Cambridge Universities celebrate 10 years of working together for South West students

Exeter College hosted its tenth annual Oxford and Cambridge Information Day this week, bringing admissions tutors and undergraduates from both universities to Devon so that local students can hear direct from the experts.

Downing College, Cambridge and Exeter College, Oxford have been working with the further education college in Exeter to organise this event every year since 2003.

Free to attend, the Information Day offered up-to-date information, advice and encouragement to local students about aiming high in their HE choices. The day is part of both collegiate...

Meditation technique enhances children’s mental health

Teachers in schools across the globe are turning to a new philosophy to help improve the behaviour and well-being of students. Mindfulness, a form of meditation, has been shown to help with a wide range of mental health conditions and improve well-being in adults. However, few trials have evaluated its effectiveness in children.

Professor Willem Kuyken from the Mood Disorders Centre at the University of Exeter is presenting new research findings from a feasibility trial which show how the mindfulness technique is also effective in improving well-being in young people. Speaking at...

Aladdin’s cave of learning at outstanding Honiton Primary School

Honiton Primary School has been given the highest possible accolade by education inspectors who have classed it as outstanding.

Not only do they rate the school’s overall effectiveness as outstanding. Every key area of school life also wins the top judgement.

The inspectors say the achievement of pupils, the quality of teaching, the behaviour and safety of pupils and the leadership and management are all outstanding too.

The three inspectors from the school standards agency, Ofsted, delivered their verdict after a two-day visit to Honiton last month. And lead...

"Can do" atmosphere at city school aids rapid improvements

Pupils at an Exeter primary are helped to learn by the collaborative ‘can do’ atmosphere throughout the school, according to education inspectors.

And they rate Pinhoe Church of England Primary as a good school on all five key aspects of school life.

They say Pinhoe’s overall effectiveness is good and so is the achievement of pupils, the quality of teaching, the leadership and management and the behaviour and safety of the pupils.

The rating is much improved from the satisfactory grade the school received less than three years ago and since then the school standards...

Climate change to be cut from new Geography curriculum

Authored by Liz Vizard
Posted: Tue, 03/19/2013 - 8:00pm

The Guardian newspaper reports today (Tuesday 19 March) that the new draft guidelines for the Geography national curriculum for children under 14 years old does not mention ‘debate about climate change’. If this happens, it will be left to teachers to choose whether to teach it, apart from a single mention of the human part in CO2 emissions in the chemistry section. With the pressure of time, or personal opinion, many may not do so.

People and Planet , a student network that campaigns on the environment as well as global poverty and human rights, has launched a campaign to lobby...

Topsham School gets a ‘Heartstart’ on livesaving skills

Teachers and pupils from Topsham School have been learning vital lifesaving skills.

The school has signed up to the free ‘Heartstart’ programme, which teaches simple skills that can be used in a life-threatening emergency in order to help save lives.

Staff and Year 6 pupils have been taught skills such as assessing an unconscious patient, performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), dealing with choking, serious bleeding, and helping someone that may be having a heart attack.

The course is designed for pupils aged 10 and upwards, but some emergency lifesaving...

Axe Estuary Wetlands launches new Rivers education programme for schools

East Devon District Council (EDDC) is about to launch a new teaching and learning pack for schools, which focuses on the River Axe.

EDDC Education Ranger Meg Knowles and Primary Curriculum Advisor David Weatherly are leading a teacher training day on the Axe Estuary Wetlands on Monday 15 April.

The government has made it clear that the new slimmed-down national curriculum will only identify ‘’the essentials of human knowledge and understanding’’, providing more professional space for schools to design their own (broad and balanced) curriculum using their local environment...

Special Event marks National Apprenticeship Week 11-15 March

Devon County Council is calling on small and medium-sized businesses to think about the benefits of offering an apprenticeship.

The Council is organising a special event at Sandy Park in Exeter on Tuesday 12 March to bring young people and potential employers together.

Businesses are being encouraged to sign up to the event to see how they could get involved and maybe find a suitable apprentice for their organisation.

The day starts with a Business Breakfast between 8-9am for those considering taking on apprentices to find out more information.

In addition,...

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