The soaring cost of childcare

Working parents are struggling to pay for childcare as costs rise four times faster than wages. Childcare is now so expensive that families are better off if one parent gives up work to take full time care of their children. Since 2008, the average cost of childcare for an under two has risen by 49 […]

Has Baby Jesus finally grown up?

Is the traditional nativity now all about dancing camels and laughing lobsters? Fairies, Aliens, Elvis Presley and even recycling bins, this is how some schools do it. But here in Gloucestershire, they like to keep things traditional, with a snippet of dancing camels and laughing lobsters. Nicky Farrow, a teacher at Naunton Primary School said: “Sometimes […]

Cheltenham Ladies College grades take a tumble

Cheltenham Ladies College is among a number of elite private schools to fall down the exam rankings following the introduction of an overhauled A-Levels system. With notable former students including Home Secretary Amber Rudd, former Conservative MP Cheryl Gillan and actress Talulah Riley, the girls school has dropped out of the so-called ‘90% club’ where 90% […]

What school doesn’t teach you

One way education is often described is as a way of ‘preparing you for life in the outside world’. In reality, however, there are many areas in which it falls short of hitting the mark. Take money, for example. In school, you are taught how to add, subtract, divide and even do the wizardry which […]