• The National Grammar Schools Association (NGSA) is advising extreme caution in view of the 'covert dangers' potential to academy status. As academies may not be defined as 'maintained' schools they may lose the statutory protection of requiring a parental ballot before they are turned into comprehensive schools. NGSA Chairman spoke of the Conservative's absolute fear of being 'branded as elitist'. Guardian
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• Alan Smithers, professor of education at Buckingham University has said that children ought to sit tests at 14 which would allow them to transfer to grammar schools, specialist science schools or technical colleges. He has found that countries with academic selection at secondary school - Germany, Japan, Korea and the Netherlands - than non-selective countries, such as Britain, Canada, Australia and France. Telegraph
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• Professor Richard Dawkins has said he is interested in setting up an atheist 'free school'. He was responding to comments made by mumsnet users during a webchat. He mused that he would teach comparative religion, without any bias, although he stated that once children understood that beliefs should be substantiated with evidence, they would work out for themselves that they were atheists. Telegraph


• Reviewing the free schools policy, Michael White observes that Michael Gove is going to face financial pressures beyond the £50.5 million already dedicated to the project; questions about the only 'moderately positive impact' on pupils' achievements in Sweden, where class division is minimal; and that Labour managed to allow the private sector to provide healthcare under the NHS brand, but for the Tories to do the same in education is proving difficult. Guardian


• Today is the grand final of the Times Spelling Bee 2010 - at which ten teams of 11 and 12 year olds will compete at the Institute of Education. Times


• An experienced primary school headteacher has been suspended following an argument with a pupil. Telegraph

• Universities fear more cuts as an IFS report states that cutting defence and schools budgets by 10% may leave other departments' budgets cut by a third; this includes the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills which funds universities. Professor Steve Smith, representing vice-chancellors, said the higher education and science budget faces being cut by £3.6 bn. Telegraph


• If the cap on tuition fees is removed, a humanities degree from a leading university might cost £7,000 a year, a science degree £14,000 and medical degree £20,000 - a price disparity likely to induce even less young people into the sciences. It would be a lesser evil to subsidise the sciences, and find cash for postgraduate scientific research so the best graduates in science and maths are not lured into financial careers. Times

• Robert Chote, director of the IFS, casts aspersions on the coalition's portrayal of the budget as 'tough but fair'. He comments, ' The budget looks less progressive - indeed somewhat regressive - when you take out the effect of measures that were inherited from the previous government.' The IFS estimated that poorer families would be hard hit once welfare cuts kicked in and the two year increase in child tax credit ended; tables on the distributional impact of the budget end in 2012-13 before £8bn of welfare cuts come into force. Guardian


• The National Institute for Clinical Excellence has suggested that carbon monoxide tests should be carried out on all expectant mothers at their first ante-natal appointment so that they can give advice about quitting, if necessary. The Royal College of Midwives has objected saying that midwives focus on being supportive rather than making women feel guilty. BBC


• Charities including Shelter expressed fears about the implications of the cap on housing benefit. Shelter's chief executive, Campbell Robb, said that some people claiming housing benefit would lose up to 40% of their total rent and that debt and evictions would rise. Guardian


• Findings in the journal Cancer Epidemiology suggest that having an abortion may triple a woman's chances of developing breast cancer in later life; the discovery was made while researching the impact of breastfeeding on breast cancer. Abortion was the highest reported risk factor for the disease - but medical opinion is divided. Mail


• Adolescents with strict parents, who keep tabs on their comings and goings and struggle to show emotion, are apparently twice as likely to drink heavily as those with parents who are attentive and loving. Having inattentive but loving parents almost triples the odds of being a big drinker. Tasting alcohol before the age of 15 raises the risk of dependency in later life. Mail

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