George Pell returns to Australia to face sex abuse charges

• UPDATED

Cardinal George Pell, Australia's highest ranking Catholic, has returned to Australia after being charged with historical sex offences.

Schools and universities welcome alternative to HSC exams

Students from three Sydney high schools will be able to get into university without having to sit HSC exams or get an ATAR under special agreements with a growing number of universities around Australia.

University of Sydney will not 'take control of residential colleges', says Michael Spence

The University of Sydney's vice-chancellor Dr Michael Spence says the university has no plans to take over the residential colleges, following claims by a St Paul's alumnus that Dr Spence's recent criticism of the scandal-plagued institution is part of a bid "to get control of the colleges".

'Complex, confusing and inconsistent': plan to increase uni ATAR transparency

Students will be able to see minimum and maximum ATARs for all university course offers from next month and the misleading term ATAR "cut-off" will be phased out, under a new national admissions transparency plan .

The forgotten link between schools and university success

There would need to be "a seismic change in the way we deliver education" to lower university dropout rates by focusing more on career advice in schools, the head of the career industry's peak body says.

The companies shaping public education

• EXCLUSIVE

Private companies are gaining unprecedented access to students' personal and academic data, drafting NAPLAN questions and producing teaching and learning materials, prompting fears that businesses are dictating the focus of public education policy.

Parents accuse Sydney school of 'emotional abuse'

Year 4 students were told they would never see their parents again as part of a school lesson.

The teachers paid less than carpenters

Australia is lagging significantly behind other OECD countries when it comes to the number of three-year-olds enrolled in high-quality preschool programs, and preschool leaders say a big part of the problem is low pay for early education teachers.

The 50-year-old HSC student

Hekmat Alqus Hanna is the oldest student taking the exams this year. A humanitarian refugee from Iraq, he is determined to be a doctor again.