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19 April 2026

Author: Samantha Booth

Independent review to check ESFA ‘remains effective’

An independent review has been launched to ensure the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) “remains effective into the future”, the government has announced. The review will look at the “operating model, governance, accountability  and impact” of the organisation. It is part of wider programme of reviews into arm’s length bodies. The ESFA is accountable […]

DfE tried to avoid ‘bringing attention’ to face mask guidance error despite confusion

The Department for Education put off clarifying a mistake in its own Covid guidance because it would “bring greater attention to the error”, despite acknowledging the wrong information was being shared widely and causing “discontent”. It comes as new analysis published today reveals headteachers were “inundated” with DfE guidance during the first lockdown that they […]

Pearson to return 33% of exam fees to schools

Pearson has finally revealed its hand on exam fee rebates, announcing today it will return 33 per cent of fees for GCSE and A-levels back to schools. The company’s exam board, Edexcel, will return £31 million in fees via a rebate to schools, meaning it sits in the middle of offers made by other exam […]

UCAS chief: ‘Danger’ poor students could ‘fall behind’ in university admissions

There is a “danger” the university admission disadvantage gap could widen this year, the chief executive of UCAS has said. While there has been an increase in applications from the most disadvantaged pupils this year, Clare Marchant said there has been a larger rise in applications from the most wealthy. Speaking at a Higher Education […]

Under-fire AQA hints at returning more exam fees cash to schools

Exam board AQA has said it may be able to give schools more exam fees cash back later this year, ahead of a potential showdown meeting with disgruntled academy leaders. The country’s largest exam board has been widely criticised for returning only 26 per cent of fees back to schools, despite teachers shouldering a large […]

Ofqual analysis on 2020 grading: 5 new findings

Ofqual has published two new reports looking at the use of centre assessed grades (CAGs) last year. Last summer’s chaos saw the government u-turn on its plan to awarded calculated grades, allowing students to instead use unmoderated CAGs. It led to large rises in grades, with two-thirds of students having at least one of their […]

Union calls for formal review after OCR confirms 42% exam fees rebate

Exam board OCR has confirmed it will give schools and colleges a rebate of 42 per cent of fees for GCSEs and A-levels. The announcement is likely to put more pressure on AQA – the country’s largest exam board – to up its rebate. The board will only return 26 per cent of entry fees, […]