Education

Celebrities and leading authors lead protests over 'shameful' threat to cherished services Protests against the planned closure of more than 450 library services were staged today. Library users, authors, parents and children took part in "read-ins" and demonstrations at libraries in south Yorkshire, Lancashire, Gloucestershire, Dorset and Oxfordshire, where 20 of the 43 libraries still running are earmarked for withdrawal of funds. TV presenter Kirsty Young, musician Billy Bragg and literary stars such as Philip Pullman, Colin Dexter, Mark Haddon, Kate Mosse and Julia Donaldson were involved in Save Our Libraries events. At Sheffield central library a mass "shhh-in" was organised by Library Workers for a Brighter Future. On the stroke of 11am, protesters joined in a chorus of "shhh" then cheered for their library, before taking out the maximum 15 books each on their tickets the theory being that you cannot close down a library while most books ar...

Chris Riddell on George Osborne's unkind cuts Chris Riddell

Mass shhh-in and flashmob book readings as coalition plans for the 'NHS of the mind' are challenged Arts and Media Correspondent Protests against the planned closure of more than 450 library services were staged today. Library users, authors, parents and children took part in "read-ins" and demonstrations at libraries in South Yorkshire, Lancashire, Gloucestershire, Dorset and in Oxfordshire, where 20 of the 43 libraries still running are earmarked for withdrawal of funds. TV presenter Kirsty Young, musician Billy Bragg and literary stars such as Philip Pullman, Colin Dexter, Mark Haddon, Kate Mosse and Julia Donaldson were involved in Save Our Libraries events. At Sheffield central library a mass "shhh-in" was organised by Library Workers for a Brighter Future. On the stroke of 11am, protesters joined in a chorus of "shhh" and then cheered for their library, before taking out the maximum 15 books each on their tickets the theory being that you c...

Evangelical church based around creationism plans to open free school An evangelical church which places creationism at the heart of its belief system is applying to open a free school. The Everyday Champions Church in Nottinghamshire will teach evolution as a theory as part of the science curriculum Photo: ALAMY 8:59AM GMT 05 Feb 2011 Comments The Everyday Champions Church, based in Newark, Nottinghamshire, has said it will teach evolution as a "theory". Free schools can be set up by charities, universities, businesses, educational groups, teachers and groups of parents. The church wants to open the new school in September next year and says there are currently not enough secondary places available in the area. Pastor Gareth Morgan, the church's leader, told the Independent: "Creationism will be embodied as a belief at the Everyday Champions Academy but will not be taught in the sciences. Similarly, evolution will be taught as a theory." Evolution...

The first "free schools" will open later this year, part of the government's education reforms. Toby Young is setting one up, Melissa Benn is resisting at all costs Toby Young is the founder of the West London Free School. Melissa Benn is founder of the Local Schools Network and achampion of comprehensives. So willMichael Gove's flagship policy boost standards, or leadto a two-tier system? Susanna Rustin hears the arguments. Toby Young : In west London we want tostart a school that is faithful to the original ideal of comprehensive schools, which Harold Wilson defined as grammar schools for all. At our school we want every child to study Latin up toage 14, and do at least six academic GCSEs. There's no reason in theory whythis couldn't be done at a local authority-maintained comprehensive, but it hasn't been so far. I think the original idealism which informed the roll-out of comprehensives in the 1960s has, to a degree, curdled. Melissa Benn : First, I th...

Martin Pickard attributes the decline of working-class pop musicians to the "abandonment of music in state schools" ( Letters , 1 February). In recent years I have been conducting an extensive research project about popular music in Portsmouth in the 25 years following the second world war ( Pompey Pop ). In 1963 John Boorman directed a TV documentary about a secondary modern school teenager from the city and, writing about this in his autobiography, suggested that "the surge of pop music in the 60s was directly attributable to the teaching of music in secondary modern schools". I used his idea to correspond with many local musicians and music fans from that period and found hardly any sympathy for his view. Many respondents saw music as wholly "extracurricular" and for some it was a form of cultural "resistance". School music has developed wonderfully in recent decades but it is not essential to the health and wellbeing of popular music, and the...

A new guide to post-16 education talks of 'informed choices' but empowerment can be illusory There is a seductive rhetoric behind the Russell Group's newly launched guide for teenagers making choices about post-16 education. Its author, Andy Gardner, works in two north London schools and says : "I just felt I had to do something about the fact that teenagers are given such misleading information about what subject choices to make." The report is attractively presented and it does much to make good on its promise not to mislead. Whatever one thinks of recent attempts to narrow the divide between academic and vocational qualifications, this document at least openly states the widespread preference for the former in "top" universities: "It is extremely important that you are aware that for several university courses vocational qualifications are not considered to be suitable." Much of the attention given to the report has thus focused on its pr...