Students End Stage Sit-In Over Fees

A group of students protesting against Scotland's leading arts academy's decision to charge fees of £9,000 to students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland ended their sit-in this afternoon.









A spokeswoman for the group said it was "neither practical nor effective" to stay in the foyer of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland overnight.

Around 30 students started occupying the building at around 11.30 this morning.

They said the protest was part of a rolling programme of "wildcat" occupations over Scottish universities' plans to charge fees to students from the rest of the UK (RUK).

The RCS, which recently changed its name from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, is to charge students from elsewhere in the UK £36,000 for four-year degree courses and £27,000 for three-year courses from 2012/13.

The Glasgow-based institution has said the charge reflects the exceptionally high cost of programme delivery in conservatoires, which substantially exceeds the £9,000 fee.

The sit-in at the conservatoire ended shortly after 3pm.

A spokeswoman for the protesters said: "By facilitating fee increases for RUK students the RCS is setting a dangerous precedent in Scotland.

"Despite promises from the SNP Government that Scottish students will not pay fees, we believe that the huge disparity in fees between Scottish and RUK students will become intolerable and will inevitably result in fees for all students.

"Whatever tokenistic measures are introduced, a financial market in education will always result in discrimination against those unable to afford fees, whatever the level.

"Education is a right, and must be free, as it was for generations.

"The Conservatoire's Student Union has abandoned its responsibilities by backing the decision by management."

Robert Gordon University (RGU) in Aberdeen and the Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) also made announcements on fees for RUK students today.

RGU adopted a "tiered approach", with three bands of undergraduate fees.

Business, management and social science courses will cost £5,000 a year, fees for art and design, architecture and built environment, computing, engineering, health and science courses will be set at £6,750 a year, while the master of pharmacy course will be the most expensive at £8,500 a year.

The Scottish Agricultural College (SAC) said fees for RUK students would be £27,000 for a four-year degree, with fees set at £6,750 a year.

The announcements came after St Andrews and Edinburgh universities set fees at the maximum level of £9,000 per year for students from the rest of the UK, meaning that a four-year honours degree at the universities will cost £36,000.

Aberdeen and Heriot-Watt universities also announced £9,000 yearly fees, although both have capped the cost of a degree at £27,000.

Glasgow School of Art also capped fees at £27,000 for a four-year course.

Currently, no full-time undergraduates domiciled in Scotland pay tuition fees at Scottish universities.

The conservatoire said the fee its board of governors has agreed is exactly the same as that charged by comparable conservatoires in England which offer four-year undergraduate degree courses in music and three-year undergraduate degree courses in drama and dance.

The conservatoire, whose alumni include James McAvoy, Robert Carlyle, Billy Boyd and Tom Conti, already operates an extensive scholarship programme.

It said that from 2012/13 it will introduce additional scholarships, which will be means-tested, for new undergraduate students from the rest of the UK to partly offset the introduction of increased tuition fees for that group of students.

Scholarships of £3,000 a year will be available for students from a household whose income is less than £25,000 per annum.

The RCS was not immediately available for comment.

David Cameron: Eton College Should Run A State School

David Cameron wants his old school – Eton College – to set up and run an academy funded by the taxpayer.












The Prime Minister confirmed that he met representatives from the £31,000-a-year boarding school this week to discuss taking over a state secondary.

Eton joined several other leading private schools at a Downing Street reception on Thursday staged to drive forward the Coalition’s flagship education reforms.

It is the latest in a series of attempts being made by the Government to court the independent sector as part of an expansion of the academies programme.

Earlier this summer, Nick Gibb, the Schools Minister, also addressed a meeting of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference, which represents 250 leading fee-paying schools, over the issue.

The move is likely to infuriate teaching unions who are already opposed to academies which they see as the effective “privatisation” of state education.

But talking to the BBC, Mr Cameron insisted that the sponsorship of academies represented a “great way” for independent schools to fulfil their “charitable purpose”.

Asked if he wanted his former school to formally join the programme, he said: “Yes, I would like all private schools to engage in this agenda and if you look at most private schools many of them already run bursaries for children from less well - off backgrounds and partnering state schools.

“To me all private schools have always had a charitable foundation, a charitable purpose, and that's a great way to deliver that.”

He added: "The truth is the problem has been not enough good school places in our country...so anyone who can play a role in that - private schools included - is welcome through my door to talk about how we drive up standards."

Tony Little, the Eton headmaster, said that the Eton had close relations with local state schools and was examining "several possible routes" for greater involvement and "ruled nothing out".

An expansion of academies is being seen as central to the Government’s attempts to drive up standards of state education.

Under reforms, schools are given almost complete freedom to run their own policies on admissions, the curriculum, teachers’ pay and the shape of the academic year.

Top state schools are automatically given the right to apply for academy status.

Ministers also want the worst schools to make the switch under the leadership of a third party sponsor – usually outstanding state schools, charities, education companies and entrepreneurs.

Some 28 independent schools are also helping to run academies, including Sevenoaks, Dulwich, Wellington, Marlborough, Malvern, Winchester, Uppingham and Oundle.

But ministers are keen to get more independent schools involved.

Mr Cameron joined Eton at 13 and left in 1984. Lord Waldegrave, the former Conservative Cabinet Minister is currently the provost of Eton and attended Thursday’s meeting.

David Cameron: Parents Of Truants Face Benefit Cuts

Parents of children who regularly truant face having their benefits cut, David Cameron has warned, as he opened the first wave of the Government’s free schools.











In a keynote speech on Friday, the Prime Minister said the government's social policy review, set up in the wake of the recent riots, was considering the proposal.

Addressing the Norwich Free School, Norfolk, he outlined Coalition plans to ensure teaching was based on “excellence”.

Controversial reforms were needed to “bring back the values of a good education” because failure to do so would be “fatal to prosperity”.

Mr Cameron said more discipline and rigour were needed.

In his speech, Mr Cameron signalled a return to “elitism” in schools in an attempt to mend Britain’s “broken society” and secure the economic future.

He said discipline needed to be restored in schools, with teachers and heads being given the tools to do this but “restoring discipline is also about what parents do”.

“We need parents to have a real stake in the discipline of their children, to face real consequences if their children continually misbehave,” he said.

"That's why I have asked our social policy review to look into whether we should cut the benefits of those parents whose children constantly play truant.

"Yes, this would be a tough measure – but we urgently need to restore order and respect in the classroom and I don't want ideas like this to be off the table."

In his speech, Mr Cameron also championed the opening of the first free schools, state-funded institutions run by parents, charities and faith groups, independent of local council control. Some 24 have opened this month.

The Prime Minister attacked the “prizes for all” culture in which competitiveness was frowned upon and winners are shunned.

The comments marked the latest in a series of attempts to focus on education in response to the riots that shocked London and other English cities last month.

They follow the announcement by Michael Gove, the Education Secretary, of back-to-basics discipline in state schools.

He plans to give teachers more freedom to search pupils suspected of carrying banned items and to let them use reasonable force in removing the most disruptive children from the classroom.

Mr Cameron sought to move the debate on to standards, saying that a rigorous focus on the basics is needed to give young people “the character to live a good life, to be good citizens”.

The Prime Minister added: “For the future of our economy, and our society, we need a first-class education for every child. Of course, everyone’s agreed on that.

“The trouble is that for years we’ve been bogged down in a great debate about how we get there. Standards or structures? Learning by rote or by play? Elitism or all winning prizes?”

"Every year that passes without proper reform, is another year that tens of thousands of teenagers leave school without the qualifications they really need."

He added: "The most important value we're bringing back to the classroom is a commitment to rigour. Rigorous subjects, tested in a rigorous way.

"However well students perform in their exams, we cannot deny the reality of the past few years. The numbers of people taking core academic subjects - they went down.

"The voices from business concerned about the usefulness of some of our exams - they grew louder.

"We are determined to stop this slide - and already we're making an impact."

Mr Cameron made clear that he was in favour of elitism and not prizes for all.

He added: “These debates are over – because it’s clear what works. Discipline works. Rigour works. Freedom for schools works. Having high expectations works.

“Now we’ve got to get on with it – and we don’t have any time to lose.”

Free schools have provoked fury among teaching unions who claim they smack of elitism and represent an attempt to dismantle the state education system.

But Mr Cameron insisted free schools will “have the power to change lives”.

He also sought to link improvements in education to mending “our broken society.”

“We’ve got to be ambitious if we want to compete in the world,” he said.

“When China is going through an educational renaissance, when India is churning out science graduates, any complacency now would be fatal.

“And we’ve got to be ambitious, too, if we want to mend our broken society. Because education doesn’t just give people the tools to make a good living – it gives them the character to live a good life, to be good citizens.”

He added: "A free school is born of a real passion for education – a belief in its power to change lives.

"It's a passion and a belief this coalition shares. We want to want to create an education system based on real excellence, with a complete intolerance of failure."

The comments come days after Nick Clegg said that parents must take more responsibility. The Deputy Prime Minister insisted that teachers should be left to educate, and not be expected to act as “surrogate mothers and fathers”.

Interest In Apprenticeships Soars As Universities Say Fees Will Put Too Many Students Off

Universities joined the growing consensus against the rise in tuition fees today as figures revealed thousands are seeking alternative routes through apprenticeships.


















Falling fees: Students at some universities could see their tuition fee drop as part of a government incentive to lower the cost.

Higher education establishments across the country are vowing to drop their fees to below £7,500 after the Government announced incentives for those that charge lower amounts.

The move comes after ministers announced that English institutions who charged £7,500 or lower would be able to bid for a share in 20,000 funded places.

The decision has seen 12 universities, all of whom were planning to charge up to £9,000, express an interest in lowering their fees.

The majority considering the move are believed to be former polytechnics, including the University of Derby and University of Hertfordshire.

Despite the move, figures released yesterday suggested that the rise in fees will result in a drop of 7.5 per cent in the university enrollment rate for males and nearly 5 per cent for female students.

Ministers, who had expected just a handful of elite institutions to charge £9,000, are desperate to drive fees down to reduce the burden of the student loan on the public purse.

The move will also help reduce the mountain of crippling debt for some graduates.

However, it drew widespread criticism yesterday and accusations that the Coalition’s policy is in complete disarray.


















Attack: Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students, said the revelation is yet another example of the Coalition's shambolic policies.

It comes just one week before the admissions process for autumn 2012 is due to start. This means thousands will be expected to choose universities without knowing the cost.

Liam Burns, president of the National Union of Students, said the revelation is yet another example of the Coalition’s shambolic policies.

‘With students preparing to submit university applications in just a matter of weeks, the shambles of the Government’s fees arrangements has left places being auctioned off to the lowest bidder and universities looking to cut corners,’ he said.

‘As a direct result of ministers’ bungled funding policies, prospective students have been left in the dark as to what universities will charge and now face an agonising wait for clarity over their future options.

‘We need urgent action from ministers to put right shambolic policies that risk doing permanent damage to students’ prospects.’

The disarray among the university fees comes as figures revealed that interest in apprenticeship vacancies has soared rapidly since the turn of the year.















On the up: Searches for 'apprentice vacancies' are up by 400%, while the term 'apprenticeship' has seen an increase of 625.















Rises: The National Apprenticeship Service website (blue) has seen a 50 per cent rise in visits year on year, while notgoingtouni.co.uk, has seen hits soar by 150 per cent.

Statistics released by internet analysts Hitwise showed that since January 2011, searches for 'apprenticeship vacancies' have soared by 425 per cent, while the term 'apprenticeship' is up 62 per cent.

And the National Apprenticeship Service website has seen a 50 per cent rise in visits year on year.

Another website, notgoingtouni.co.uk, has seen hits soar by 150 per cent since this time last year.

The figures also revealed that the most popular type of apprenticeships searched for were that of plumber, engineer or electrician.

And the most popular companies searched for included British Gas, NHS and British Telecom.

Two-Thirds Of Schools Ignore Legal Requirement To Provide Daily Act Of Worship

Most schools ignore the legal requirement to hold a daily act of worship for their pupils, a new study has found.

Almost two-thirds of parents told a survey that their children do not attend a daily act of collective worship at school.

And a majority of people thinks that the law on daily worship on schools should be no longer be enforced.















Assembly: But two-thirds of schooldchildren do not attend a daily act of worship.

A Church of England spokesman pointed out that the BBC Local Radio poll did not differentiate between primary and secondary schools, and argued that most primary schools do have collective worship or a daily period of reflection.

'The law states that all maintained schools must provide a daily act of collective worship, with the exception of those withdrawn by their parents,' he said.


















Praying: The Church of England says that collective worship promotes pupils' 'spiritual, moral, social and cultural development'.

'The Church of England strongly supports this - although it is not its job to enforce it - as it provides an important chance for the school to focus on promoting the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of its pupils.

'Collective worship is when pupils of all faiths and none come together to reflect - it should not be confused with corporate worship when everyone is of the same belief.'

However, 60 per cent of the public do not support enforcing the law which prescribes a daily act of worship in all state schools, with older people more favourable towards the law than the young.

A small majority (51 per cent) of those aged 65 or over believe it should be enforced, but only 29 per cent of 18- to 24-year-olds agree.

Following the release of these findings, National Secular Society executive Keith Porteous Wood called for the law on collective daily worship to be repealed, saying it infringed pupils' human rights.

'As the BBC survey confirms, the law requiring daily collective worship is being widely flouted, and because the law should not be brought into disrepute in this way, it should be repealed,' he said.

'England is the only country in the western world to enforce participation in daily worship in community schools.

'To do so goes beyond the legitimate function of the state and is an abuse of children’s human rights, especially those who are old enough to make decisions for themselves.'

The survey was carried out by telephone in July and interviewed over 1,700 adults, including 500 parents with children at school in England.

The Reformist Case For Clegg

One ally of the deputy Prime Minister suggested to me yesterday that the press was missing the most significant aspect of Clegg’s speech on education: Clegg acknowledging that free schools would now be a permanent part of the educational landscape. This ally argued that this was a big deal given that a year ago Lib Dem conference had voted to boycott these schools.









The Lib Dem leader is considerably more liberal than his party. This means that he sometimes needs, so the argument goes, to sweeten the reformist pill with some Lib Dem rhetoric. Hence the emphasis on free schools being fair schools in yesterday’s speech.

But this internal Lib Dem party management is frustrating for Conservative ministers. They complain that it often leads to concessions which undermine the effectiveness of a whole policy.

Ministers 'Must Not Undermine' GCSE Results

Labour shadow minister Andy Burnham has warned the government off "undermining" the achievements of young people receiving GCSE results by focusing only on the English Baccalaureate.












The English Baccalaureate has not been universally welcomed by schools.

Whilst the shadow education secretary said that today's GCSE results "reflect well" on young people, teachers and schools, he also warned that the government risks "restricting" students with the EBac.

The EBac system places emphasis on traditional core subjects such as maths, English, science, a modern language and either history or geography by measuring how many students receive A-C grades in these topics.

Mr Burnham said: "These results show young people are making sensible choices to prepare them for the modern world, with big increases in the sciences, religious studies and economics.

"Ministers should listen to the education select committee and introduce more flexibility and choice into the English Baccalaureate.

"Otherwise, they risk restricting student choice and penalising young people whose strengths and interest lies in the arts, music, ICT, engineering, business and economics."

Trends for subjects selected at GCSE level were released today and showed a slight decline in modern foreign languages, history and geography, despite the fact that these are all specified EBac subjects.

Nick Gibb, schools minister, said: "While it is encouraging to see the rising uptake in maths and single sciences, it is worrying that once again there are falling numbers studying languages.

"Through the English Baccalaureate, we want to make sure all pupils have the chance to study the core academic subjects which universities and employers demand."

Today's results also showed a growing disparity between the results of boys and girls.

The number of boys achieving top grades was 19.8%, compared to 26.5% of girls. Last year the gap was six per cent, but this year it is up to 6.7%.

Jim Sinclair, director of the Joint Council for Qualifications, said that the growing divide in the performances of girls and boys was a "worrying trend".

In an improvement on last year though 69.8% of all GCSE entries were awarded at least a C, which is the 23rd straight increase on the total.

Almost one in four GCSE papers gained an A or A* grade, which is also an increase on last year.

Despite this Chris Keates, general secretary of NASUWT teaching union, criticised the "betrayal" of young people by the government.

She said: "In just over 12 months, this government has stripped away many of the opportunities available.

"Apprenticeships have been slashed, financial support axed through the abolition of the education maintenance allowance, youth unemployment has soared and university places cut.

"The coalition has ripped up the social contract between the state and young people."

School Dinners To Rise By 17%, Warns Consumer Watchdog

Parents will have to pay up to 25% more for their children’s school dinners, a survey has found.













Consumer watchdog Which? discovered the price is rising in two-thirds of schools across the country this year – while the quality of food could plummet.

Parents would rather give their children packed lunches as they believe them to be cheaper and their children do not like school dinners, according to the research. Schools in Poole are the most expensive in the country at an average of £2.50.

But Doncaster Council has increased prices by 17% to between £1.70 and £2 a meal while Lewisham has upped theirs by 14%, from £1.40 to £1.60.

Bolton saw the biggest increase at 25%, although its prices still remain the lowest in the country at £1.25.

It is estimated that 55% of students would need to take school meals in order to keep costs down.

But the research just 45% of pupils in England have them. Richard Lloyd of Which? said yesterday: “It will come as an unwelcome surprise to hard-pressed families to see some local authorities increasing prices well above inflation.

“Meals in most areas are still a relatively low-cost and low-hassle way to provide a decent lunch for your kids.

“But if schools cannot find ways to protect the extra funding that has gone to school meals and increase the numbers taking them, there’s a real risk of even more hikes or a drop in standards, undoing progress made in the past five years.”

Parents Paying £77,000 'Premium' For Homes Near Top State Schools

Parents are paying ‘premiums’ of on average £77,000 to buy homes near leading state schools, research out today suggests.
















Pricey: Catchment area of the Henrietta Barnett school (pictured) has homes with an average price of £655,429.

Property prices within sought-after catchment areas are 35 per cent higher than in the rest of the UK, with an average asking price of £298,378.

The most expensive catchment area of a state school in Britain’s top ten surrounds all-girls grammar Henrietta Barnett, in Barnet, north-west London, where the average house price is £655,429.

The premiums have soared from an average of £20,000 in just four years.

And rent in the catchment areas of the top 50 state schools – at an average of £944 a month – is 7.8 per cent higher than in the rest of the country. For the catchment areas of six of them, rental prices are as high as £1,500 a month.

But the premiums are still cheaper than most private school fees, which can top £30,000 a year.

The research is likely to reignite the bitter row over school ‘selection by mortgage’ rather than ability.

The phenomenon has prompted some councils to adopt controversial lotteries – effectively picking names from a hat – to give children from poorer homes an equal chance of getting a place at a top school.











The research, from property website PrimeLocation.com, is based on average asking prices in July this year and GCSE results taken from 2010.

It shows a handful of the top schools are in areas with typical house prices more than twice the national average of £221,110.

These include St Olave’s and St Saviour’s Grammar in Orpington, Kent, ranked second in the UK, where house prices average £592,471. Notably, house prices in the area around the top-rated Bishop Wordsworth’s Grammar, in Salisbury, are just below the average for leading schools at £286,112.

Nigel Lewis, property analyst at PrimeLocation.com, says: ‘For many years now the challenges of the catchment area-based lottery for state schools have vexed millions of parents across the UK – and our research highlights how much it can cost to get your child into the ideal school.’

n The first 24 ‘free schools’ are to receive £130million between them from the Government to cover their start-up costs this year.

Among those getting state backing is the Maharishi School, in Ormskirk, Lancashire, where children as young as four will be given meditation classes.

First 'Free Schools' To Open Next Month

The 24 state-funded schools set up by teachers, charities, education experts and parents will not follow national curriculum.












Michael Gove, the education secretary, says too many children are 'failed by fundamental flaws in the education system'.

Twenty-four "free schools" are to open next month, the government has announced.

The schools – state-funded and set up by teachers, charities, education experts and parents – are spread throughout the country but mainly concentrated in deprived areas with poor records of academic achievement.

They have the same legal status as academies and do not have to follow the national curriculum, giving them more freedom than local authority schools.

The Department for Education has confirmed that funding for all 24 schools has been signed and agreed.

Under the coalition's plans, the schools will also be able to prioritise the most disadvantaged children in their school admissions arrangements.

Education secretary Michael Gove said: "The most important thing for any parent is to be able to send their child to a good local school, with high standards and strong discipline.

"That is why we are opening free schools across the country. I am delighted to announce that the first 24 will open this year.

"Too many children are being failed by fundamental flaws in our education system. The weakest schools are concentrated in our poorest towns and cities, and we are plummeting down the international education league tables.

"In spite of years of investment, the situation is worsening. Children from disadvantaged homes are still falling behind. A change of approach is vital.

"By freeing up teachers and trusting local communities to decide what is best, our reforms will help to raise standards for children in all schools."

The 24 schools will open at different times during September – 17 are primary schools, five secondary and two are all-age schools.

They will open between 10 to 15 months after submitting their initial plans to the DfE. In the first application window, 323 groups applied to open free schools.

When selling the idea, the government referred to the similar American charter schools, saying that in New York they closed the gap separating inner-city students from those in the wealthiest suburbs by 86% in maths and 66% in English.

Schools Failing To Produce Good GCSE Result Should Close

Those two imposters triumph and disaster will be making their presence felt in 750,000 homes today as the GCSE results come through.


















Lucy Gallagher opens her GCSE exam results in Nottingham.

Amidst the cheers and the tears for the individuals emerge the statistics for the pundits to grab hold of. The news that 23.2 per cent of papers were gradedA* or A – which is 0.6 per cent more than last year - will be met with scepticism. Few will be convinced that it means standards are higher.

Most will believe that it is more likely that the exams have become easier. There will be the familiar concerns about 'grade inflation' and 'dumbing down'.

But the grade inflation is being choked off as the Education Secretary Michael Gove demand s greater rigour. In fact grades are expected to come down in future years as credibility is restored to the system. Gove is also concerned to reverse the decline in history teaching - a subject that only 30 per cent of pupils sat for GCSE.

A greater challenge is that the 'gender gap' has widened. The boys are falling further behind the girls. 26.5 per cent - were awarded an A or A* this summer - compared with 19.8 per cent of boys exams.

This is something schools will want to address. Are boys more distracted by a collapse in classroom discipline than girls? Are there enough real experiments with things that go bang in science lessons? Should we recruit more male teachers?

Does the falling standard of school discipline disproportionately impact on the academic attainment of boys? Would fostering more sports competitions between schools engender greater school pride and particularly encourage boys to be more engaged?

Are boys disadvantaged by the switch to nice, neat feminine coursework rather than testosterone charged exams? Are young boys, in particular, put off reading by their teachers using bland, sanitised PC story books?

But I hope the greatest attention of all from the GCSE stats will go on the schools producing the worst results. They undergo regime change should be closed down entirely and new schools opened on their sites.













Four pupils react after opening their GCSE exam results at West Bridgeford School, Nottingham today.

Their are huge numbers of groups around the country seeking to open Free Schools. But hostile Labour councils are seeking to thwart their efforts to expand parental choice. Even some Tory councils are unhappy about the prospects of the Council-run schools being exposed to competition. So the planning system is used to make it hard for them to convert a site for a school building. Yet if a failing school is closed down then a ready made site for a new school becomes available.

For years Leftists in the educational establishment have refused to acknowledge that such a thing as a bad school exists. If parents don't want to send their child to a particular school they are accused of prejudice or ignorance. If a school gets bad exam results then excuses are repeatedly made and the answer put forward that more money should be sprayed at it. Never that the head should be held to account.

That is not the approach favoured by Michael Gove. He has decided that heads and governing bodies of schools where fewer than 35 per cent of pupils achieve reach C grade in five GCSEs, including English and maths, should be taken over by new management and become academies.

He plans to raise the threshold to 40 per cent next year and by 2015 to 50 per cent. Some have criticised this approach for saying that the schools will focus on cramming those heading for a D to get a C - and thus neglect the brighter pupils. If these critics are sincere they should back an additional challenge for these schools - that a minimum of, say, 15% of pupils should get A* or A. The reality is that the bad schools are overwhelming failing pupils of all abilities.

The indulgence of Leftists for sink schools which parents struggle to avoid is a scandal. For all their talk of equality nothing does more to keep the poor poor.

The GCSE results are judgement day for the pupils. Those who are disappointed should not despair. Some who fail at school go on to succeed in later life.

But on the other hand poor school results do reduce their chances of success. The odds are stacked against them. They have consequences. Poor results should also have consequences for their schools.

The £650m Apology: Forget Our Ailing Education System, That's What Britain's Giving To Pakistani Schools To Make Amends For Our Imperial Past

David Cameron vowed to hand hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money plus vital military secrets to Pakistan yesterday to make amends for offending the Muslim nation last year.

The Prime Minister pledged to invest £650million in Pakistani schools at a time when the education budget at home is being cut.

Britain is also to give highly sensitive military technology to combat roadside bombs to the Pakistani security services, which are widely blamed for funding and arming the Taliban.




















In a huge gamble with the lives of British troops in Afghanistan, Mr Cameron agreed to spend millions more on a centre of excellence for the country’s soldiers and spies near Peshawar, a hotbed of militancy.

The gesture came after Mr Cameron sparked a diplomatic rift last year when he accused the country of ‘looking both ways’ on terrorism.

The technology deal sparked fears that the Pakistani intelligence service, the ISI, would hand details to the Taliban, enabling them to build more effective improvised explosive devices (IEDs).




















The huge cash injection for schools by the Department for International Development will make Pakistan the UK’s biggest recipient of overseas aid.

It is designed to get four million children into the classroom – 17million currently get no schooling. Pakistan spends just 1.5 per cent of its national income on schools but is placing billion-pound orders for six Chinese submarines and 36 fighter aircraft.

The UK will have no control of the curriculum in schools receiving funding, meaning taxpayers could see their money pumped into madrassas peddling extremism.

Mr Cameron defended the payments, saying it was ‘in our interest’ to help Pakistan.

He said: ‘If Pakistan is a success we’ll have a good friend to trade and invest and deal with.

‘If we fail we’ll have all the problems of migration, of extremism, problems that we don’t want to see. So it’s in our interest that Pakistan succeeds.’

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani said he believed a ‘root cause’ of terrorism was illiteracy.

But Tory MP Philip Davies said: ‘Particularly at the moment when we’ve got no money, there’s absolutely no justification for increasing the amounts that we give to other countries.

‘That is especially the case with countries that can afford to spend billions on defence. If they can afford submarines they can afford to educate their own people.

‘We need to concern ourselves with our own schools because countries around the world are overtaking us in educational attainment.’

In a speech to university students, Mr Cameron vowed to get over the ‘tensions’ sparked by his comments last year and create a ‘new start’ in relations with Pakistan.

But he also said Pakistan had to raise taxes and stamp out corruption to justify British generosity. ‘Understandably, the British people want to know every penny we spend is going to the right places.

‘I need to convince them that it is. But my job is made more difficult when people in Britain look at Pakistan, a country that receives millions of pounds of our aid money, and see weaknesses in terms of government capacity and waste.’

Mr Cameron, who was accompanied on his one-day visit by Tory party chairman Baroness Warsi, who is of Pakistani origin, ducked questions about whether he could guarantee that the ISI will not hand the anti-IED technology to the Taliban.

The £650million investment for Pakistan schools will come out of the existing aid budget.

■ The reputation of Britain’s international aid programme is at risk because of lax controls to prevent fraud and corruption, the National Audit Office warned last night.

It said the Department for International Development was doing too little to prevent taxpayers’ money being siphoned off by corrupt officials in deprived countries.

International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell insisted that weaknesses in the systems set up by Labour had been addressed.







PM blames British Empire for 'many of the world's problems'

David Cameron sparked a backlash last night after telling a Pakistani audience that Britain is responsible for ‘many’ of the world’s problems.

The Prime Minister sought to blame the British Empire for the situation in Kashmir which has been a running sore in Pakistan’s relations with India since partition in 1947.

But he laid himself open to the charge of running down Britain on an overseas trip.

At a university in Islamabad, the Prime Minister was asked how Britain could help end the row over Kashmir.
















David Cameron inspecting a guard of honour at the Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's residence in Islamabad.
















Mr Cameron signing an Enhanced Strategic Dialogue document with Pakistan Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani.

He replied: ‘I don’t want to try to insert Britain in some leading role where, as with so many of the world’s problems, we are responsible for the issue in the first place.’

His gaffe could lay Britain open to legal action by relatives of those killed in Kashmir or other conflicts sparked by the end of empire.

Mr Cameron’s claim is not even accurate about the fate of Kashmir, which has been the subject of three major wars between India and Pakistan in 1947, 1965 and 1999.

The disputed province, which has a predominantly Muslim population, would probably have joined Pakistan when it broke away from India had it not been for the intervention of the state’s Hindu Maharaja Hari Singh, who insisted on remaining with India.














David Cameron and Baroness Warsi visiting the Faisal Mosque in Islamabad

Sean Gabb, of the Libertarian Alliance, said yesterday: ‘It’s a valid historical point that some problems stem from British foreign policy in the 19th and 20th Centuries, but should we feel guilty about that? I fail to see why we should.

‘Some of these problems came about because these countries decided they did not want to be part of the British empire. They wanted independence, they got it, they should sort out their problems instead of looking to us.’

A No 10 official said: ‘Sometimes a bit of humility goes a long way.’

School Buildings Scheme Scrapped

Hundreds of school building projects are being scrapped as England's national school redevelopment scheme is axed by the government.

Education Secretary Michael Gove said 719 school revamps already signed up to the scheme would not now go ahead.

A further 123 academy schemes are to be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

His department has been reviewing Labour's Building Schools for the Future scheme since the election.










It concluded that all local authority schemes that have not reached financial close would not go ahead, saving "billions" of pounds.

This means 706 schools in the existing BSF programme which have reached financial close will continue, but officials will see how savings can be made within them.

Another 14 projects in local authorities further down the BSF priority list would be considered to see if a small number of revamps could be brought forward.

Mr Gove said: "The Building Schools for the Future scheme has been responsible for about one third of all this department's capital spending.

"But throughout its life it has been characterised by massive overspends, tragic delays, botched construction projects and needless bureaucracy."

'Dysfunctional'

He called the scheme "dysfunctional" and "unnecessarily bureaucratic", with nine "meta stages".

He added: "It is perhaps no surprise that it can take almost three years to negotiate the bureaucratic process of BSF before a single builder is engaged or brick is laid."

Some 180 schools have been rebuilt or revamped since the programme was introduced by Labour in 2004. And building is about to start in 231 schools.










But 1,100 schools have already signed up to the scheme, investing time, energy and money into drawing up plans for redevelopment, but have not reached financial close.

Originally all of England's 3,500 schools were to be revamped by 2023. The plan was to replace out-dated buildings with facilities that suit modern education.

'Tragedy'

But Mr Gove said the national building scheme had been beset by red-tape and delays.

He BSF had "failed to meet any of its targets", and that while 200 secondary schools were meant to have been rebuilt by the end of 2008, only 35 had been completed, with a further 13 refurbished.

He said the whole way schools are built needed radical reform to ensure more money is not wasted on pointless bureaucracy, to ensure buildings are built on budget and on time.

A review is being set up to see how capital funds can be used to rebuild schools more effectively.

This is being led by the operations director of the Dixons Store Group Sebastian James and includes Professor John Hood, former vice-chancellor of Oxford University.

'Woefully run down'

Shadow education secretary Ed Balls said the decision was a "tragedy" for teachers and parents who would have benefited from new facilities.

He said: "Today is a black day for our country's schools."

He added that he and his Labour colleagues would fight to "save our new schools".

Christine Blower, the general secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said there was "no excuse for leaving schools which were promised new buildings swinging in the wind".

"Poor learning environments have a negative impact on the education of children and young people.

"School buildings were woefully run down prior to Labour coming to power in 1997 and while much has been done to improve them there is still a lot more to do."

Ty Goddard, head of the British Council for School Environments, said waste and bureaucracy had been a real drag on BSF, but said it was important to remember how important it was to invest in school buildings.

Chris Keates, Nasuwt general secretary, said the announcement would devastate parents and schools, and condemn thousands of children and young people to a future of Dickensian education.

David Cameron Snubs 15 Local Schools To Send His Daughter To Exclusive Church Of England Primary

David Cameron has angered parents by rejecting at least 15 local primaries to try to get his daughter into an exclusive state school.

The Tory leader and his wife Samantha want four-year-old Nancy to attend an exclusive Church of England primary more than two miles from their home.

They have passed over at least 15 other nearby primaries, including alternative CofE schools, to do so.

Local families have accused Eton-educated Mr Cameron of "snobbery" in choosing the highly sought-after St Mary Abbots instead of schools such as a 453-pupil primary yards from his front door in Notting Hill.

Spoilt for choice: A bird's-eye view of all the local schools David Cameron is bypassing to send his daughter Nancy to St Mary Abbots



















He is one in a long line of politicians ? including former premier Tony Blair ? who have faced awkward questions over their children's schooling.

The Camerons' chosen school is in one of London's property hotspots, off Kensington High Street.

It has 210 pupils, mainly from families of professionals, such as high-flying media figures and architects and an enviable record of being a feeder for fee-paying schools.

Every year a number of pupils move onto private day and boarding schools including the Godolphin and Latymer School for Girls.

Pupils also head for non-denominational schools, notably nearby Holland Park, which is one of the most famous comprehensives in the country.

In contrast, the family's nearest school is Oxford Gardens. Its pupils come from diverse ethnic backgrounds including white, black African, Caribbean, Pakistani and Bangladeshi and about half qualify for free school meals.

Cloistral calm: St Mary Abbots school - in a little enclave by the church it could be in the middle of the country. It is, in fact, just yards away from one of the busiest streets in London

In 2003, Labour MP Diane Abbott caused a row after shunning local comprehensives and sending her son to a private school.

Heir to Blair: David Cameron follows in a long tradition of MPs who choose to send their children to elitist schools. Old Etonian Mr Cameron feels his daughter Nancy, centre, might 'get a bit lost' in a large primary school

Mr Cameron also snubbed St Thomas's CofE, where nearly three-quarters of pupils are from ethnic minorities, and St Stephen's CofE, where around 43 per cent do not speak English as a first language.

Karen Spencer, 32, whose daughter attends St Thomas's, said: "It's just pure snobbery to think this school isn't good enough."

Michelle Marlowe, 30, whose two children are also at the school, added: "We'd all love to get our kids into St Mary Abbot's but this is a fantastic school. Why does he think he's so much better than his neighbours?"

Mr Cameron will discover shortly whether Nancy has gained a place at St Mary Abbots, which accepts around 30 pupils a year. She would start in September.

In a radio interview last year, Mr Cameron said he was "very keen" on St Mary Abbots for Nancy, the second of his three children. He said he feared that she might get "a bit lost" in a large primary school.

The Camerons began worshipping at the church next to St Mary Abbots around three years ago.

One churchgoer, who did not want to be named, said: "We get lots of young families. Many realise worshipping here helps get a place in the school."

She admitted her decision was "indefensible" as she had criticised other MPs in the party over their choice of schools.

Mr and Mrs Blair sent their children across the capital to the London Oratory School, a grant-maintained Roman Catholic school in Fulham.

And deputy leader Harriet Harman revealed in 1996 she had sent her elder son, Harry, to the Oratory. She sent her second son, Joe, to a selective grammar in Bromley.

A spokesman for Mr Cameron said yesterday: "David has always made clear that he wants to send Nancy to a state school and he's making the decision for his child.

'Indefensible': Diane Abbott chose to send her son to an elite independent school even though she had publicly criticised political colleagues for doing the same

"They really liked St Mary Abbots. Obviously he's not playing politics with his children. There are lots of good schools in the area but he was particularly keen on this one."

Anthony Mannix, headteacher of another local school, Barlby Primary, said: "If he sent any of his children here I'm sure they would do very well."

There was no one available to comment at St Mary Abbots or Oxford Gardens yesterday.

David Cameron: No Turning Back On Tuition Fees Rise

Prime minister condemns students who tried to ransack Conservative HQ and criticises policing of riot

David Cameron vowed today that he would not turn back on trebling tuition fees and condemned the students who tried to ransack Conservative headquarters yesterday, saying the full force of the law should be used to prosecute violent protesters.















In a round of interviews in Seoul, where he is attending the G20 summit, Cameron said: "We won't go back. Look, even if we wanted to, we shouldn't go back to the idea that university is free."

He also urged the police to learn lessons from yesterday's riot, saying there were 30,000 police officers in London yet only a thin blue line of extremely brave police officers was available to "to hold back a bunch of people intent on violence and destruction".

He also insisted he had a mandate to push through the reforms to higher education, saying: "I think the will of the public was expressed at the time of the election when they rejected debt and deficit and putting off these difficult decisions under Labour, and they chose a new approach and we've got to be true to that and stick to that".

He said he was very glad the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson, had called for an inquiry into the policing of the event, saying: "I think we need to learn the lessons rapidly." He said there had not been remotely enough police officers, adding that there may have been failures of intelligence.

"I think the police themselves have said that the problem here was about the planning, was about the intelligence, was about the resourcing of that particular operation."

But he added: "I am quite convinced that the reductions in police spending that we're making can actually be done without losing the visibility and the activity of the police officers on our streets."

The Metropolitan police said 51 people were arrested as a result of yesterday's disorder. A spokesman said it was not known if anyone had been charged or how many remained in custody at police stations across central London. A City of Westminster magistrate's court spokesman told the Press Association news agency that no one was listed to appear today to face charges linked to the violence.

Cameron disclosed he had been on the phone from Seoul to Conservative HQ in Millbank yesterday to check staff were safe.

He said: "I thought it was extremely serious. I could see a line – a thin blue line – of extremely brave police officers trying to hold back a bunch of people who were intent on violence and destruction."

He also denied that the violence represented a return to the kinds of riots seen in the 80s under Margaret Thatcher.

Asked if he feared the British social fabric was under threat, he said: "There have been protests – both peaceful protests and sometimes protests that have turned quite nasty – under all governments so I don't see it like that.

"Look, people who assault police officers or who smash windows or who break property they are breaking the law and, yes, those people I hope that they will be prosecuted. They should be."

He added: "Lawbreaking is not acceptable and I hope that the full force of the law will be used."

David Cameron: Fees Changes Are Fair

On the eve of the crucial Commons vote on university funding, Prime Minister David Cameron today sought to win over doubters with a speech promising the Government's proposed fees package will be "sustainable, competitive and fair".
















As students staged sit-ins and rallies in protest at the plan to treble the maximum tuition fee to £9,000, Mr Cameron used a speech in east London to acknowledge the "passion" of those opposing his plans.

But he insisted that their passion was "drowning out some of the truth" about the package on offer from the Government.

Mr Cameron insisted that his plans would widen access to university, create incentives to improve the quality of courses and leave the poorest graduates better-off than under the existing system.

Denouncing the current funding arrangements as "unsustainable, uncompetitive and unfair", Mr Cameron said: "Today I want to explain the real truth about what's going on, why we need change and why the change we are proposing is the best option we've got."

Mr Cameron rejected critics' claims that the Government is simply seeking to save money by removing state subsidies and heaping the burden of university funding on to students' shoulders.

In fact, the loans, grants and scholarships proposed by the Government will increase in value from £7 billion to £12 billion by 2015, he said.

But he said that sticking with the funding status quo would be possible only with a "radical" reduction in the numbers of students or by increasing Government spending.

Even in good economic times, Government spending alone could "never be a sustainable way of funding the growth in student numbers" and the need to keep up with international competitors, he said.

And in the current straitened circumstances, there are no "pots of money" for Government to dip into to help universities.

Hiking taxes to pay for higher education was "just not acceptable" because it would mean that non-graduates on low incomes would be subsidising the degrees of those who will earn more than them.

The existing system gave universities no real incentive to improve, because they get most of their money from central government, rather than having to compete for students' fees.

And universities' role as an "engine for social mobility" has "stalled" because of an "unfair" system which has seen a decline in the number of children from poorer households going to the top universities over the past few years, he said.

"We want more people to go to university, not less," said Mr Cameron. "So we have to find a new way of funding higher education in this country...

"We have no choice: we need change, we need to put the funding of our universities on a sustainable footing - and it's right that when it comes to doing this, successful graduates pay their share."

And he added: "I think it's clear that long-term, responsible reform of higher education means:

"Making it more sustainable, by asking successful graduates who go on to earn a good salary to make a bigger contribution.

"Making it more competitive and more responsive - with students calling the shots, and universities bending over backwards for them.

"But most importantly, making it fairer - opening the doors of universities to everyone, regardless of where they're from."

The graduate tax backed by Labour and the National Union of Students was "anti-aspiration, anti-success, anti-people who just want to get on and do the best in their lives", said Mr Cameron, who accused Ed Miliband's party of "the worst sort of opportunism" for backing it.

It was "simply not affordable" because it would take until 2041 before it produced enough money to fully fund higher education. It would centralise all university funding, removing the incentive for universities to compete for students. And it would encourage a "brain drain" of graduates moving overseas to avoid paying for their higher education.

Mr Cameron said a graduate tax would also cost many students more in the long run than the Government's proposals, as they would start paying as soon as they were earning £6,475 and would carry on paying for the whole of their working lives.

"With our new system, the poorest quarter of graduates will pay back less overall than they do currently," said Mr Cameron.

"And everyone will pay less per month than they do now."

Students and parents will not be required to pay a penny in fees upfront under the Government's proposals, said Mr Cameron.

He rejected the argument that the prospect of debt will put potential students off going to university, arguing: "They can tell the difference between upfront fees they pay now or contributions they make when they are earning money later."

Graduates will not start repaying fees until they are earning £21,000 - and will stop paying if their income drops below that level or they stop working to look after children. Payments will be made at a rate of 9% of earnings over the £21,000 threshold for a maximum 30 years.

Mr Cameron said the proposed fees would produce "sustainable" funding for universities, which would have 60% of their income from private sources and 40% from the state, rather than 60% from the state as at present.

The system would make universities more competitive by putting spending power in the hands of students, putting pressure on universities to drive up standards.

And the Government's proposals were "the fairest option on the table - fairer than the current system and fairer than the graduate tax too", said the Prime Minister.

He gave the example of a graduate care worker on £23,000, who would pay back loans at £44 a month under the current system or pay £38 a month under a 3% graduate tax, but would pay only £15 under the Government's scheme.

"This is the real truth about our plans," said Mr Cameron.

"They will put universities on a sound financial footing and make future expansion affordable.

"They will create a dynamic university sector that can compete with the very best in the world.

"And because the rich will pay more and the poor will pay less, they will put fairness back at the heart of our university system."

David Cameron Accused Over School Policies By Disabled Boy's Father

David Cameron was accused today of seeking to segregate disabled children in the education system by the father of a boy with spina bifida who tackled him as he left a General Election campaign speech.














Jonathan Bardley, who confronted the Conservative leader with his wheelchair-bound son as he left the event in south London, voiced his concern about Tory plans to "end the bias towards the inclusion of children with special needs in mainstream schools".

He told Mr Cameron about the two-year struggle he had faced to get seven-year-old Samuel into his local mainstream school, and said the existing system was already biased against disabled children being educated alongside their able-bodied peers.

Mr Cameron insisted that, as the parent of a disabled child himself, he was "passionate" about helping them get the education that was right for them and would not do anything to make it more difficult for them.

But Mr Bardley said: "It is the wrong way to go. You are not representing the needs of children in mainstream education. You want to segregate disabled children."

The Conservative manifesto states: "The most vulnerable children deserve the very highest quality of care, so we will call a moratorium on the ideologically-driven closure of special schools.