Lucy Smith
Education, Government, Statistics

The Spring Budget 2017 – Implications for education

Chancellor Philip Hammond has confirmed that the government will allocate £320m to free schools which will “enable the creation of new academically selective free schools” – grammar schools in all but name. This money will be used to help fund up to 140 new schools, creating more than 70,000 new places. The Budget will also include a further £216 million to rebuild and refurbish existing schools in England, to ensure that they are fit for purpose. The investment is intended…

Lucy Smith
Education, Statistics, University

Number of students awarded first class degrees soars

The proportion of firsts handed out by UK universities has soared, with a third of institutions now grading at least one in four degrees with the top honour. In some cases, the proportion has more than doubled in five years, according to Press Association analysis of official data. New figures detailing student enrolment and qualifications show a quarter of students at UK universities now graduate with a first-class degree – a dramatic increase from just 17 percent in 2012. Last…