Education
Unis will keep hurting even when overseas students return, report finds
A report into the country’s universities has found they will struggle if international students have been scared off during pandemic border closures.
- by Stuart Layt
Latest
Exclusive
School air-con winners and losers raise concerns over fairness
Coastal schools got funding while suburban schools in Sydney’s “hot triangle” missed out.
- by Jordan Baker and Nigel Gladstone
Exclusive
‘I’ve never seen a better system’: Experts give controversial ‘hippie school’ top marks
Mark Latham wanted it ‘normalised’. But a review commissioned by the government says the Lindfield Learning Village is actually ‘very impressive’.
- by Jordan Baker
Exclusive
‘Rubbery’ vaccination rate figures may create interstate travel hurdles
A South Australian policy to force some interstate visitors into quarantine after the state hits 80 per cent double vaccination could penalise some Sydneysiders because of “rubbery” vaccination figures.
- by Caitlin Fitzsimmons
NSW school students given rapid antigen tests to check for COVID-19
Rapid antigen tests will also be used to cut the isolation time for students who come into close contact with a COVID-19 case
- by Jordan Baker
‘Confusion reigns’ as pandemic delivers $756m hit to universities’ overseas student revenue
Sixteen of the country’s 39 comprehensive universities reported a deficit in 2020, with an overall net loss of $1.9 billion across the sector.
- by Lisa Visentin
Exclusive
Experts warn childcare will be the next COVID frontline as sector calls for safety plan
Children aged under five will soon make up almost two-fifths of Australia’s unvaccinated population, but there are few sector-wide policies for how to deal with COVID at childcare services.
- by Katina Curtis
Exclusive
Schools brace for teacher shortages when vaccination mandates come into force
Some private schools say up to a third of teachers in certain regional schools are reluctant to be vaccinated, which could exacerbate existing teacher shortages.
- by Jordan Baker
Masks required for high school students - except those at The King’s School
King’s relied on public health orders rather than department guidelines to allow high school students a choice in whether they wear masks or not
- by Jordan Baker
Exclusive
Cold snaps hurt student academic results more than heat: study
Researchers set out to show how much heat hurt students’ test results, but found the opposite; cold had a greater impact.
- by Jordan Baker
Exclusive
St Paul’s College opens doors to women after 165 years as male bastion
St Paul’s decision to become co-residential - partly driven by waning popularity of all-male colleges - was opposed by some students and alumni.
- by Jordan Baker
‘They’ve all turned up really early’: Half a million students return to class
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the government was continuing to work with NSW Health around isolation requirements for children “so that we’re not having an unfair impact on families, particularly parents who are vaccinated”.
- by Natassia Chrysanthos
Updated
All pupils return to school as NSW records 294 local COVID-19 cases, four deaths
More than 500,000 students in years 2 to 11 returned to class across the state today, a week after kindergarten, year 1 and year 12 students went back to school.
- by Sarah McPhee and Mary Ward
Students’ academic skills survive remote learning, study finds
Lara White will return to class in Sydney this week and her mum is happy with her daughter’s progress during remote learning.
- by Jordan Baker and Anna Prytz
For the first time in 30 years, the IB exams will begin before the HSC
Dylan Nguyen’s mates picked the HSC over the IB because it finished earlier. Now Dylan will do his last exams when they are doing their first.
- by Jordan Baker
Opinion
The truth about inquiry-based learning
As Victorian and NSW students return to the classroom, it is crucial that we make wise choices about how we teach.
- by Peter Adams
Australia’s $40 billion question: Will international students return?
International students have been left in a vulnerable position during the pandemic, but Australia has high hopes for reviving its third-biggest export industry.
- by Madeleine Heffernan
Editorial
We must ask questions of our leaders and the experts who advise them
There is a problem when critics prefer a speaker be silenced or removed from the public sphere rather than debated.
- The Herald's View
Big feelings, exhaustion and excitement loom for students returning to school
Some students will feel anxious and cautious about the return to school; others will bounce out of the house without a backward glance on Monday.
- by Jordan Baker and Daniel Lo Surdo
Schools turn to solar power, helping state to achieve emissions reduction targets
From Monday, when students return full-time to Jamison High School, the power used to charge laptops and light classrooms will have been sourced from solar panels recently installed on the school’s rooftops.
- by Natassia Chrysanthos
‘Playing politics with Australian children’: Historians take Tudge to task on curriculum
Alan Tudge says he wants school children to be taught an “accurate” account of history, but one which gives a “positive, optimistic view” of modern Australia.
- by Lisa Visentin and Katina Curtis
Day one of school: balloons and smiles. Day three: a ‘shocking’ email
After 16 weeks, life was finally returning to normal. But shortly after the final school bell on Wednesday, parents received the email they dreaded; there had been a positive case.
- by Jordan Baker
When your kid gets COVID at school: Katy Gallagher on being prepared
The federal senator tells what she learnt when her teenage daughter picked up the virus at drama class – and when her double-vaccinated partner fell ill.
- by Anne Hyland
After almost three years, 432 schools learn they’ve missed out on air conditioning
The NSW government took just months to approve 900 schools for air conditioning before the last election but almost three years to reject the vast majority of schools that applied in a second round held shortly afterwards.
- by Jordan Baker
MPs from across the political divide call for better sex education
Greens MP Jenny Leong sponsored the petition with support of government MP Felicity Wilson and Labor’s Marjorie O’Neill.
- by Natassia Chrysanthos
NSW parents to get $250 vouchers as a homeschooling thank you
Parents of school-aged children will be given a $250 thank you gift from the NSW government.
- by Alexandra Smith and Tom Rabe
Opinion
We must fix a few problems before we can increase immigration
To reach the very high targets suggested this week, we would need to make it easier for older people and people with more limited English and/or lower skill levels to migrate to Australia. And that has consequences.
- by Abul Rizvi
Children in preschools and childcare ‘didn’t drive’ Delta spread
Analysis by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has found the Delta variant has mostly spread from adult to adult, less frequently from adult to child and is only rarely transmitted between children.
- by Adam Carey and Madeleine Heffernan
Opinion
We need more immigration – Perrottet is right to seek a big Australia
Some argue the pandemic has applied the brakes to unsustainable population growth. But in a country as massive as Australia, the argument that we are “too full” is ludicrous.
- by Shane Geha
Parents offer to spend thousands on air purifiers, but some knocked back
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the NSW Department of Education will provide air purifiers if they are needed in public schools
- by Jordan Baker and Natassia Chrysanthos
Opinion
Students could have a field day with more outdoor learning
The pandemic is our opportunity to rethink school spaces and make better use of outdoor areas. Evidence suggests al fresco learning has many benefits for students.
- by Gweneth Leigh
‘I’m just busting to come back to school’: Sydney’s youngest students back in classrooms
At MLC School in Burwood, the heads of school were dressed in unicorn onesies to welcome kindergarten and year 1 back after more than three months of remote learning.
- by Natassia Chrysanthos
Kids keen for Indigenous culture classes, as schools open their gates
As kids head back to the classroom for face-to-face learning, teachers in Broken Hill say their students are keen to get back to language and culture lessons.
- by Cameron Gooley
After months at home, six-year-old Archie is ready to play with his friends again
Kindergarten and year 1 are the first Sydney students to return to school on Monday after four months of lockdown. Even though school won’t be back to its usual settings, many experts and parents believe it’s the right compromise.
- by Natassia Chrysanthos and Jordan Baker
At 4, Griff was doing long division. At 13, he’s ready for the HSC
Griff Brondum heads back to school on Monday with his year 12 peers - who once thought he was in detention rather than a member of their class. He is the youngest student sitting this year’s HSC.
- by Jordan Baker
Opinion
A crucial step to fighting anti-Semitism
Scott Morrison’s pledge to embrace the definition of anti-Semitism as set out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance will be welcomed by Jewish university students.
- by Josh Feldman
Opinion
Even the most eager students have fears about going back to school
As schools resume face-to-face teaching, children may experience back-to-school anxieties. But there are parental strategies that can help.
- by Rachael Murrihy
Editorial
Patience and empathy needed as we re-emerge into changed world
It’s a great day for the people of NSW after the state hit its long-awaited 80 per cent vaccination target.
- The Herald's View
‘Summer is looking good’: NSW hits 80% target, pushes for students and tourists to return
Premier Dominic Perrottet confirmed NSW would ease restrictions to allow 20 visitors in homes and the return of community sport, as well as indoor dancing and drinking.
- by Matt O'Sullivan and James Massola
To mask or not to mask? The question facing parents as school resumes
Some primary school parents don’t think the benefits of masks outweigh the downsides. Others think it’s a small price to pay for safety.
- by Jordan Baker
Exclusive
JobKeeper payments made to school linked to ‘extremist cult’
OneSchool Global, which is associated with the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church, a group that refers to outsiders as “worldlies”, has received an estimated $9 million in JobKeeper payments.
- by Anne Hyland and Michael Bachelard
Exclusive
Shorter isolation period for vaccinated students exposed to COVID-19
The NSW Department of Education will provide “limited” home-schooling resources to parents who refuse to send their children to school for the rest of the term, according to the new back-to-school guidelines.
- by Jordan Baker
Schools brace for big emotions, separation anxiety as students return
International experience has shown children often struggle to readjust to school after extended lockdowns.
- by Jordan Baker
Opinion
Beware the promise of easy answers when it comes to COVID
For epidemiologists advising politicians and debating control measures in the public arena: excess haste, over-simplification and exaggeration will lead us into dangerous waters.
- by Ewan Cameron
Exclusive
‘The joy of teaching’: Plan to find 3700 new teachers to plug school shortage
The NSW Department of Education’s plans to avert a teacher shortage include convincing people it’s a fulfilling job, as well as scholarships and incentives.
- by Jordan Baker
When a third of Camilla Portela’s class caught COVID, she became their source of support
Across the education sector, teachers and schools have gone way beyond their immediate duties to help families or students in need during lockdown.
- by Natassia Chrysanthos
Exclusive
Children as young as six mimicking Squid Game in playground, school warns
The principal of an inner Sydney school has asked parents to not let their children watch the violent MA show.
- by Jordan Baker
Updated
Tudge flags further free speech measures as sacked climate sceptic loses High Court case
The Education Minister Alan Tudge says he’s “concerned that, in some places, there is a culture of closing down perceived ‘unwelcome thoughts’ rather than debating them”.
- by Lisa Visentin and Nick Bonyhady
Mandatory jabs for students and staff to return to universities
The University of Technology Sydney and University of Melbourne are among city institutions that have decided to make COVID-19 vaccinations compulsory for staff and students to return to campus.
- by Anna Patty