• British schools are flocking to the International Baccalaureate qualification, disillusioned by the questionable reputation of A Levels. Britain has been the country with the most rapid growth of take-up of the IB within a region covering a third of the world and two thirds of these schools are in the state sector. Unlike the fast inflating A Level results, IB results have remained stable, even declining slightly year on year. Times


• Chair of Ofsted, Zenna Atkins, has sparked controversy with the comment that 'every school at some point will have a useless teacher...it is inevitable and not always a disaster'. She advised that the most important thing was that school leadership deal with them, moving them on when necessary, as it was a myth that it was impossible to get rid of teachers. Telegraph


• Niall Ferguson, invited by Michael Gove to mould England's history curriculum, shares his ideas with the Guardian. His favoured teaching aids are increased use of TV and video games. He reasoned that 'history is more like a game than a novel, because you don't know, when you're in it, what the end will be'. He rejected the accusation that he would impose a Eurocentric curriculum, stating a greater interest in transposing the 'big picture'. Guardian


• A school who had its charity status removed has won a reprieve from the Charity Commission in a ruling that may herald a more lax deal for private schools. The prep school had been told it did not do enough to allow children from poorer backgrounds to attend, it now provides bursaries and has increased the number of subsidised places to three, deemed proportionate to what the school could 'meaningfully provide and sustain'. Guardian


• Council bosses have issued a document to all primary and secondary school pupils on how to avoid offending Muslim pupils who might still be fasting at the beginning of term in September. This includes distributing free school meals as packed lunches to take home and cancelling school events that Muslim parents might not be able to attend. They were directed to cancel swimming lessons, sex education classes and strenuous PE lessons. Telegraph


• A Scottish government pledge that all schoolchildren receive two hours of physical education a week is not being met. Only 35% of primaries and 23% of secondaries have reached the target since the party took power in 2007. Four councils alone were using specialist teachers for the lessons. BBC


• David Cameron has commented that he is 'terrified' about finding a good secondary school for his children in central London. He said that his dilemma had strengthened his resolve to drive up standards so there are 'really good state schools available to all'. Telegraph


• A teacher advises primary school parents of how they can address the trauma of changing school. Times

• A legal challenge by language schools has undermined new immigration guidance which demands overseas students have an intermediate rather than elementary standard of English before they can come to Britain to learn the language for more than six months. They successfully claimed that changes in guidance had not been backed up by alterations in the rules agreed by parliament. Times


• As graduates search in vain for jobs in the UK, markets elsewhere look more lucrative. William Hague last week advocated an increase in the UK's representation at the European Commission, and the recruiting office for EC staff agrees that the 1.7% of applications from the UK is disproportionately low. Other options are the Netherlands and Poland; Singapore and China. Guardian

• A Medical Research Council study has suggested that offering Weight Watchers on the NHS would be an inexpensive and effective way to reduce the burden of obesity. Two thirds of Primary Care Trusts currently offer 12 week Weight Watchers courses, costing £45 each, but the programme isn't available to everyone. A trial showed that those patients who went to their doctors lost 7kg, compared to 3.9kg for those who went to their doctor. Telegraph


• The general synod has voted against an amendment which was to realise female bishops, while creating a new type of bishop to care for opponents of female ordination. Archbishop of York commented that 'As clear as daylight follows night, it will happen. We will have women bishops.' There are fears Anglo-Catholics and evangelicals will leave the Church. Times


• Chief Inspector of Prisons, Dame Anne Owers, has published a damning report about conditions at the immigration removal centre Brook House. She found bullying, violence and drug use to be serious problems; the centre was designed to hold detainees for 72 hours, the average stay was three months. The many Foreign National Prisoners resident, facing deportation after their release, told the inspecting team that conditions were worse than prison. Guardian


• Nearly a million families have an income which is too high to receive housing benefits but too low to afford to buy a home with a government discount. The average household income for those getting low-cost home ownership is £28-30,000, but nearly half of households live on less than that. Shelter suggests that new social housing would be a better investment than the current shared ownership or equity schemes. Times


• A report by the Family and Parenting Institute has found that nursery care costs parents between £30 and £80 per child per day and that between birth and the age of 21, each child will cost around £800 a month. It attacked Britain's record of maternity and paternity care, local authority care for children and social care for the elderly. Telegraph


• A survey shows that more than half of maternity units lack a dedicated bereavement support midwife for parents whose child has died and nearly half lack a specific room where a mother whose baby has died can be shielded from the sounds of newborn babies. Seventeen babies a day are stillborn or die soon after a birth. BBC


• Facebook is to add an application which can be downloaded to offer users advice about threats to their safety on the site. Facebook has rejected requests for them to install a panic button on each user's page. Telegraph


• The Times meets Generation Y, the women who are smart, educated and just want to stay at home and have kids. Times

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