GENERAL: AI exemplars. The government highlighted the potential impact that AI can make to public services including health and education as part of its AI Exemplars Programme, with teachers for instance released from time spent on lesson plans and marking.
Pension review. The government announced an independent Call for Evidence ahead of the third review of the State Pension age with views sought on such factors as the linkage to life expectancy and future management and sustainability of the state pension.
To boldly go. The government announced that the UK Space Agency would join the Dept for Science, Tech and Innovation from next April as part of a number of recommendations intended to cut down on red tape and waste and ensure major opportunities for the space sector.
Top pay. The High Pay Centre called for reforms to the regulations for corporate pay-setting as its latest review of annual CEO pay revealed that the pay of a median FTSE CEO is 122 x that of a median f/t worker. SCHOOLS: L2 results data. The Joint Council for Qualifications published details on this summer’s L2 results, referring to GCSE results as ‘stable and similar’ to previous years albeit with a slight drop in entries and listing a wide range of vocational and technical qualification achievements.
Results 2025. The government offered its perspective on this summer’s L2 results, acknowledging the challenges faced by many young people and the hard work involved, pointing to future White Papers as opportunities to tackle attainment gaps and ‘entrenched inequalities.’
L2 results. The Education Policy Institute published its overview of this summer’s L2 results suggesting a fairly similar picture to last year including in terms of grade distribution across subjects and with London continuing to be the best performing region in England.
SEND. The IPPR think tank confirmed the full line-up of its Taskforce set up under the stewardship of Geoff Barton and with a brief to look into how best to reform the SEND system ahead of the government’s intended plans due this autumn.
Mind the gap. The Institute for Government examined attainment gaps in schools which have worsened since 2019 particularly in some areas and among certain groups, calling on the government to look more closely at the funding, support and other actions needed to improve attendance and help close the gap.
Back to school shopping. The charity, Action for Children, looked at the various costs of equipping children for school, citing recent figures from the Child Poverty Action Group among others and pointing to hopes that the latest Schools Bill will help cut the cost of school uniforms. FE/SKILLS: Results briefing. The AoC reported on this summer’s GCSE results and in particular resit data, pointing to an overall increase in GCSE resit achievements at grade 4 for post-16 students albeit with a slight fall among adult learners suggesting similar resit numbers likely for colleges this year.
Latest NEET data. The ONS published indicative figures for the numbers of 16-24 yr olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) for the latest quarter to June 2025, showing the figure up by 24,000 on the previous figures driven by an increase in the numbers of young women now NEET.
Manufacturing technology. The manufacturers’ organisation, Make UK, argued that the UK was falling behind other countries when it came to adopting digital technologies, calling on the government to use its new Industrial Strategy to align research, skills and investment and place SMEs at the heart of developments.
Skills routes. Skills England blogged about the potential of skills routes such as apprenticeships and T levels in providing career paths into priority sectors such as Clean Air and Adult Social Care. HE:
Open for applications. The Office for Students (OfS) announced it was ready to reopen for new applications from 28 August, complete with a new ‘more efficient’ application process and new registration requirements around effective governance and consumer protection for students.
Tackling misperceptions. HEPI and King’s College published the results of a new survey aimed at tackling some of the many misperceptions about the costs, value and experiences of higher education, showing for instance that contrary to some headlines most graduates value the experience and feel able to manage the costs.
Loan interest rates. The Student Loans Co published the confirmed interest rates and repayment thresholds for the various undergraduate and postgraduate Loan Plans for the coming year.
Student Living. NatWest published its latest annual Student Living Index revealing among other things that over 30% students surveyed prefer to stay inside to socialise to save money and 54% look to family for financial support as financial pressures, fear of dropping out and concerns about scams and fraud emerge as the top concerns for the Class of 2025.
Annual Review. The HE Policy Institute published its Annual Review for 2024/25 pointing to a full year of events, research and widespread impact with the prospect of a new website in sight for the coming year.
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