MATHS IN THE PAPERS Maths in Education Jan-Mar 2003
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Dyslexia figures
Education

The incidence of Dyslexia is higher in France and Britain than in Italy. With around 40 sounds and 1000 ways of spelling them, English is a notoriously complex language, with French having similar complexities. Italian, however, has a more standard phonetic framework of about 25 sounds and 33 spellings.

Dyslexia affects about 4% of the UK population, about 350,000 schoolchildren and almost 3m people in total.

TES 28/2/03

A survey conducted by Bristol’s Treasure Island project has shown that classics in children’s literature are not being read by modern children. Only 3% of those surveyed have read Little Women, and 7% Wind in the Willows, but 81% have read Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and 31% Lord of the Rings. Only 5% have read Treasure Island, which is set partly in Bristol.

78% of the 2000 parents surveyed complained that their children were not being introduced to classic stories.

The Treasure Island project is part of Bristol’s European culture capital 2008 bid.

The Guardian 1/2/03

Student performance at risk
Education

A new report shows that one in three college students works at least 15 hours a week, in conditions that may jeopardise their academic success. The survey, conducted among 1500 students by the education charity Examaid, revealed that 59% work more than 10 hours a week, 30% work more than 15 hours a week and one in ten works more than 20 hours a week. More than half earned less than £4 per hour.

TES 24/1/03

Top-up fees might affect university choices
Education

According to a Mori poll of 1086 students, one in three students would not have opted for their first choice of university if it had charged top-up fees. 35% would have considered other universities, but would probably have gone for their first choice, while 24% said top-up fees wouldn’t have mattered.

Guardian 20/01/03

Tony who?
Education

Letts Educational has recently published a survey showing that 50% of GCSE pupils interviewed did not trust Tony Blair, 46% said they did. 4% asked who he was.

TES 17/01/03

Teachers not staying in profession
Education

A MORI survey has shown that one in three teachers expect to leave the profession within five years. The General Teaching Council estimates that this represents 28,500 teachers. 70,011 teachers participated in the survey. 56% of these say their morale is significantly lower than when they entered teaching. One third stated they would not choose teaching if they were just starting out on a career path.

Guardian 7/01/03