Education

Published: 13 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. The former chief of Ofsted, Baroness Amanda Spielman, has criticised Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, claiming her recent curriculum reforms favour union interests over the broader educational needs of students. In a piece for The Telegraph, Baroness Spielman warned that scrapping the English Baccalaureate (EBacc) and diluting performance measures such as Progress 8 risked undermining the take-up of humanities...

Published: 13 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Every November, South Korea comes to a standstill for the Suneung, the country’s notoriously demanding college entrance exam. Shops close, flights are delayed to reduce noise, and even the morning commute slows down to accommodate students. By late afternoon, most test-takers emerge from their schools, exhaling in relief and greeting waiting family members. But for blind students, the...

Published: 13 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Almost a year after French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was arrested on arrival at Algiers airport, the Algerian presidency has granted him a pardon and allowed him to leave the country. Sansal, 81, had been at the centre of a bitter diplomatic row between Paris and Algiers. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s decision to pardon him followed a direct request from...

  Published: 13 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Nigeria's stunning new Museum of West African Art (Mowaa) has found itself in the crosshairs of local power politics on the week it was supposed to—but failed—to open its doors to the public for the first time. The six-hectare (15-acre) campus sits in the heart of Benin City, capital of the southern state of Edo, and includes...

Published: 12 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online Every school in England is to be issued with an AI-generated target for minimum pupil attendance, the government has announced, as part of its continuing efforts to tackle absence in the country’s classrooms. Headteachers will be given the targets this month in an effort to boost attendance rates, which remain stubbornly below pre-pandemic levels. Teaching unions, however, instantly...

Published: 10 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Renowned actor, broadcaster, and mental health advocate Sir Stephen Fry has thrown his support behind The Independent’s SafeCall campaign, joining forces with the charity Missing People to raise funds and provide vital safety and support services for missing children across the UK. The campaign aims to ensure that children in crisis have a reliable, confidential service they can...

Published: 10 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. The UK government has reiterated its position that mobile phones have “no place in our schools,” urging headteachers to take decisive action to prevent classroom disruption while ensuring children are better protected from harmful online content. The statement comes amid ongoing concerns about the impact of smartphones on students’ concentration, mental health, and overall academic performance. A government...

Published: 10 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. A comprehensive review of existing research has found no convincing evidence that paracetamol use during pregnancy increases the risk of children developing autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The findings provide reassurance to expecting mothers and healthcare professionals amid recent public concern fueled by controversial statements from political leaders in the United States. The review, published in...

Published: 07 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. London is facing a mounting childlessness crisis, and the impact is being felt most acutely in its schools. Over the past two years, nearly 40 primary schools across England have closed, with London boroughs such as Westminster, Lambeth, Southwark, Hackney, Camden, Hammersmith and Fulham, and Islington witnessing some of the highest rates of closures in the country. The...

Published: 06 November 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online. Labour’s immigration crackdown could leave the UK economy up to £4.4bn worse off, according to an internal Home Office assessment of Sir Keir Starmer’s sweeping reforms. The prime minister unveiled plans in May aimed at significantly reducing immigration, particularly targeting foreign students and skilled workers, asserting that settlement in the UK is a “privilege that must be earned,...