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12 April 2026

Author: Billy Camden

Answering the call for digital skills excellence

With the government setting out its plans for infrastructure investment and skills, we need to better prepare for a digital economic future, writes Neil Bentley-Gockmann. As we emerge from the worst stages of the coronavirus and start to deal with the economic and social consequences of having to shut down whole sectors of the economy, […]

Leicester College takes ‘difficult decision to close’ in local lockdown

Leicester College is to close from today as part of the country’s first localised lockdown following a flare-up of Covid-19 cases in the area. On Monday evening health secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons that the seven day infection rate is 135 cases per 100,000 people in Leicester, which is three times higher […]

Federation of Awarding Bodies chair and vice-chair to step down

Paul Eeles and Terry Fennell, the chair and vice-chair of the Federation of Awarding Bodies respectively, are to step down from the positions at the end of the year. The pair have each served two terms – seven years – on the board and will officially leave the membership organisation at their next annual general […]

ESFA to force ‘significant’ reductions to FE subcontracting by 2022/23

The Education and Skills Funding Agency has confirmed it will apply a cap on the volume of subcontracting as it moves to “significantly” reduce the practice in further education. A new externally assessed “standard”, which all providers will need to meet in order to subcontract ESFA funds, is also to be introduced to tackle “poor […]

Exam boards to investigate claims of ‘bias’ in teacher-assessed grades

Exam boards will be expected to investigate claims from students that schools and colleges have not shown “care or integrity” in stamping out “bias” in teacher-assessed grades. In updated draft guidance on appeals for exam boards, Ofqual said while they expect such allegations to be rare, it is an “important safeguard” for pupils in this […]

GCSE and A-level autumn series grades to be based only on exams, Ofqual confirms

Student grades in this year’s autumn exam series will be based on their performance in the tests alone, not on any non-exam assessment, Ofqual has confirmed. The exams regulator has published its decisions following a consultation on the autumn series, which will allow learners who are not happy with their summer calculated grades to sit […]

Official figures reveal 85% fall in apprenticeship vacancies

The number of vacancies on the government’s Find An Apprenticeship website plummeted by more than 80 per cent in each of the first two full months of lockdown. “Repurposed” data published by the Department for Education on Thursday showed apprenticeship vacancy figures for the first time since they were last published in 2017. The figures […]

Government to ‘fast track’ £200m of £1.5bn capital budget to refurbish colleges

The government is to make £200 million of its £1.5 billion college capital funding pot available from this September – a year earlier than planned, prime minister Boris Johnson has announced tonight. The cash for repairs and upgrades to college buildings and estates was promised by chancellor Rishi Sunak in his March budget but the […]