Schools

University students say procrastination is biggest threat to their academic performance

More than half of US students surveyed said the problem damaged their ability to do academic work, study finds Procrastination is the biggest problem that can harm students’ academic performance at university, according to a study of more than 65,000 young people who placed it above issues such as ADHD, anxiety or financial worries. The study found that nearly half of the students surveyed named procrastination as the thing damaging their ability to do academic work, more than twice the number who named depression, while the same proportion said procrastination caused them significant distress above any other problems including family pressures or bullying. Continue reading...

France’s teens versus the riot police – podcast

Angelique Chrisafis on the pupils and students who are taking to the streets and closing down schools in France Thousands arrested, hundreds injured. It’s been a shocking week for France. Schools have been closed and ransacked. Some have simply been burned down. The pupils are fed up with the status quo. And they’re furious about a school system that they say is failing them. Continue reading...

Family of student who took his own life say university ‘will be held to account’

Ethan Scott Brown died after being wrongly told he would not be eligible to graduate from the University of Glasgow The family of a student who took his own life after being wrongly told he would not be eligible to graduate have said the University of Glasgow “will be held to account”. Ethan Scott Brown, 23, was due to graduate in December 2024 after studying geography. Continue reading...

Labour Send changes at risk as parents rush to secure support, say experts

Overhaul of special education in England could unravel, thinktank finds, because of ‘use it before you lose it’ dynamic Labour’s flagship changes to special education in England are at risk of unravelling because parents are rushing to secure support for their children before the system changes, new analysis has found. The Institute for Government (IfG) thinktank says the government’s plans to largely replace education, health and care plans (EHCPs) in England with more widespread support in mainstream schools may be too optimistic and take longer to complete than its 2030 timeline. Continue reading...

Thatcherism via the Walkman: Stuart Hall’s British cultural studies preserved online

Project lead says it celebrates ‘incredible contributions’ Jamaica-born sociologist made to Britain’s culture Whether it was Thatcherism, populism or the story of the Sony Walkman, Stuart Hall was a public intellectual famed for defining the times. Now a major digital archive of his previously unpublished papers, notebooks, recordings and videos has been launched. When the Jamaica-born sociologist and seminal figure in postwar Black British history died in 2014 aged 82, his obituary in the Guardian said he had been “among the first to identify key questions of the age”. Hall coined the term Thatcherism and in 1985 warned of the dangers of “authoritarian populism”. Continue reading...

Senior academics set out key questions Cambridge must answer over Jason Arday’s death

Letter from more than 40 signatories says university has backed away from promised thorough review of events before death Senior Cambridge academics have criticised the university’s plans to investigate Prof Jason Arday’s death as inadequate, and said those responsible for “serious failures of leadership” should face consequences. In a letter to Chris Smith, Cambridge’s chancellor, the academics said “it is not yet clear” how the proposed review will answer difficult questions about the university’s involvement in the events leading up to Arday’s death, including its handling of the criticism Arday suffered after his appointment as professor of sociology of education in 2023. Continue reading...

Riot police fire teargas as 250,000 take part in schools protests across France

Officers also carry out baton charges as students, staff and parents march in cities including Paris, Marseille and Lyon Europe live – latest updates Police have fired teargas at ⁠protesters as more than 250,000 pupils, teachers and parents demonstrated across France on the biggest day yet of a campaign for better high school conditions that has been marred by often violent clashes with police. The French prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, said at least 215 teenagers and 85 school staff had been injured since the protests began more than a fortnight ago, calling the figures “the heaviest ⁠toll in decades paid by the school system”. Continue reading...

The Guardian University Guide 2027 – the rankings

Find a course at one of the top universities in the country. Our league tables rank them all subject by subject, as well as by student satisfaction, staff numbers, spending and career prospects Continue reading...