Education
Minister concedes immigration too high as students compete for city rentals
New government analysis reveals international students make up 7 per cent of the private rental market, and more than 20 per cent in inner Sydney and Melbourne.
- by Natassia Chrysanthos
Latest
Editorial
Charlotte’s heartbreaking final act is a wake-up call to end bullying
The apparent suicide of a 12-year-old girl has raised questions about an epidemic of bullying in schools.
- The Herald's View
The man who left parents $7 million out of pocket and 600 children heartbroken
Children from more than 100 schools – including Reddam, The Forest High and Marist Sisters – thought they were going on a trip to NASA in Texas. That was until Charles Chung’s company collapsed, owing millions. Here’s how it unravelled.
- by Lucy Carroll and Colin Kruger
The number of Australians with student debts above $100,000 revealed
In just five years, the number of people with six-figure debt has more than doubled.
- by Daniella White
Opinion
Social media helped me find my voice. It’s a shame others won’t have the same chance
The federal push to ban under-16s from social media would cut young people off from news sources and the ability to engage meaningfully in the political process.
- by Anjali Sharma
Opinion
A school formal booze ban won’t stop pre-loaders (and that’s just the parents)
If parents can’t be trusted not to get drunk at a school event, their kids have bigger problems than can be solved by an alcohol ban.
- by Kerri Sackville
Exclusive
Exams to go online in major HSC English shake-up
A suite of English extension subjects will have online exams, while the HSC maths advanced and standard questions will be tweaked.
- by Christopher Harris
Distressing content
The death that shocked Sydney and puts a school’s actions in the spotlight
A mother’s text to Santa Sabina school the day after her 12-year-old died has raised questions about how the school responded to bullying.
- by Jordan Baker
Sydney Catholic schools ban year 12 formal dates, alcohol for parents
External dates are banned while schools say parents can no longer enjoy a glass of wine at graduation events.
- by Christopher Harris
Distressing content
‘Life will never be the same’: Parents distraught after daughter’s tragic final act
Parents are angry with Santa Sabina officials after their 12-year-old took her own life, listing school bullying in her last note.
- by Jordan Baker
Exclusive
NSW schools call in PE and science teachers to plug maths gaps
New research on out-of-field maths teaching in 48 schools comes as the department quietly axed a highly rated maths retraining program.
- by Lucy Carroll
Opinion
You think there’s no divide in school funding? Take this history lesson
While public schools are starved of resources and private school remain overfunded, let’s cut to the chase.
- by Ken Boston
‘An easy place to be a nerd’: See where your MP went to school
Labor MPs’ schooling is reflective of the current school aged population, but more Coalition and independent MPs went to private school.
- by Christopher Harris
How NSW childcare centres, schools will be used to prevent a crisis
NSW has long focused on responding to domestic and family violence. Now it will turn its attention to prevention.
- by Alexandra Smith
No medal for Australia in international childcare rankings
A study of childcare in nine developed countries found Australia’s system did little to incentivise services where they’re most needed.
- by Alex Crowe
Opinion
Blaming private schools for the underfunding of state schools is nonsense
Australia has far more private schools than most other countries in the OECD, so it is not surprising we spend more money on them.
- by David Hastie
‘Evidence not ideology’: Major overhaul of the NSW high school curriculum
Studying the Holocaust will be mandatory under a revised high school history syllabus that also include compulsory units on Aboriginal perspectives on colonisation.
- by Lucy Carroll
Jewish academic says Sydney Uni became ‘toxic’ after October 7 attacks
A former Sydney University academic has lodged a SafeWork complaint alleging the vice chancellor failed to protect Jewish students from “psychosocial harm”.
- by Daniella White
‘Lone wolf’: Australia spending more on private schools than global average
An OECD comparison of education funding reveals the Australian government is spending more on private schools and less on public schools than other countries.
- by Noel Towell and Alex Crowe
‘The enemy within’: Royal commission damns Defence for needless deaths
The landmark inquiry found current and former service personnel are 20 times more likely to take their own lives than to die in combat.
- by Matthew Knott
Exclusive
University student had ‘knife in either hand’ in alleged attack against boyfriend
The president of the UTS Events Society allegedly stabbed the man in a jealous rage over texts from his ex-partner.
- by Clare Sibthorpe
Exclusive
Hundreds of Sydney students were embroiled in a cheating scandal. Then came the bomb threat
Sydney University was forced to close semester two orientation stalls when it discovered they were infiltrated by cheating providers.
- by Daniella White
Exclusive
Eddie Woo’s expert maths team cut back under education department restructure
The Maths Growth Team that mentors other teachers will be reduced as part of a major restructure within the NSW Education Department.
- by Lucy Carroll
Editorial
Federal government must tread gently over university reforms
The real-world consequences of reform are serious, and deserve to be taken more seriously by the federal government.
Exclusive
‘Teachers don’t feel safe’: One in 12 high school students suspended amid behavioural crisis
Figures released by the NSW Education Department show 59,814 suspensions were issued to public school students in 2023.
- by Christopher Harris and Lucy Carroll
Exclusive
School nurses to weigh and identify kids at risk of obesity under contentious plan
The Australian College of Nursing is also calling for the “normalisation of collection and discussion of height and weight data of all children” as part of it contentious plan to curb rising obesity rates.
- by Henrietta Cook
Violence in schools filmed by students
school fight at Ambarvale High School near Campbelltown this month.
Knox Grammar teacher allegedly asked teen if they felt ‘hot’
William Gulson was granted bail under strict conditions in court on Saturday after appearing via video link.
- by Matt O'Sullivan
‘It was a shock’: The limit on foreign students for every university revealed
Vice chancellors say they were blindsided by limits that kneecap institutions that achieved strong growth this year.
- by Daniella White
Knox Grammar teacher charged with child grooming
The 27-year-old English teacher from the prestigious private school on Sydney’s north shore was arrested on Friday.
- by Nick Newling and Lucy Carroll
Opinion
Australian students could be the real victims of international caps
Without top 100 rankings, we lose our reputation as a place of high-quality education. Without that, things quickly snowball for locals wanting an education.
- by Waleed Aly
More boys are getting top ATARs. Here’s how they’re doing it
Boys now make up 60 per cent of students who get ATARs above 99.
- by Christopher Harris
Revealed: The public bike path that would cut through The King’s School grounds
Pedestrians and cyclists would be able to traverse the northern edge of The King’s School grounds under a proposal by a Sydney council.
- by Lucy Carroll
Opinion
Kids are crashing parent-teacher interviews. It’s destroying the whole point of the thing
There’s a place for feelgood moments and celebrating school achievements. But sometimes parents need to have frank talks with teachers without children in the room.
- by Rosie Beaumont
Top teacher program axed under planned NSW Education Department restructure
More than 240 teaching positions will be cut under a major department reorganisation, including the “best in class” program.
- by Lucy Carroll
Analysis
Public schools ‘killing off sport’ as private school facilities grow
It has become an unequal playing field for NSW schoolchildren with inner west primary schools forced to cancel inter-school sports as some private schools promote state-of-the-art equipment.
- by Jordan Baker
Exclusive
Nearly half of all high school students feel like they don’t belong. Here’s why
Surveys of hundreds of thousands of NSW public school students reveal a declining sense of belonging since 2016.
- by Lucy Carroll
Opinion
Please, stop condemning my nickname as ‘extremely derogatory’ on my behalf
As good as the intentions of the complainant may have been, I don’t need someone to take offence for me. And yet, this demand for censorship is creeping into our lives more and more.
- by Gary Nunn
Senior Jesuit at prestigious Sydney school jailed for historical child sex abuse
Laurence Leonard was guilty of “an extremely serious breach of trust” against a 12-year-old student at St Ignatius’ College Riverview, a judge has found.
- by Clare Sibthorpe
Money, status or fame? 15-year-olds’ dream jobs ranked
More than 10,000 Australian teens were asked for the first time since the pandemic what they wanted to be. The answers have changed a bit.
- by Christopher Harris
Opinion
My tearful farewell to my son cast new light on the foreign student ‘industry’
My son has become an international student. His departure has given me a new perspective on the young people who are temporarily calling Australia home.
- by Malcolm Knox
Money before education – why the school selection system is unfair
In a “fair go” nation, the central questions about the selective high school admission process would be about genuine equity of opportunity.
Top Sydney unis are the biggest targets of the student cap. It will cost the state billions
UNSW and Sydney University will be forced to slash their international enrolments by more than 40 per cent. This is how we got here and what it means.
- by Daniella White and Matt Wade
Opinion
I always knew Sydney school parents had lost their minds. Now I have proof
Schools catering for gifted kids have an important place in public education, but we have veered well away from this ambition in NSW.
- by Alexandra Smith
Exclusive
‘Your child cannot receive an offer’: Parents pay for selective school predictions
A major Sydney coaching college is instructing parents on which selective schools they should choose, which analysts warn is misleading and fuelling anxiety among students.
- by Lucy Carroll
Curbs on foreign students are cause for concern
It is a sad situation when education policy is influenced by immigration and politics rather than the health and needs of the education system.
New foreign students capped at 270,000 in blow for large universities
Education Minister Jason Clare has asked big city universities to slash their number of international students.
- by Natassia Chrysanthos and Daniella White
Exclusive
NSW schools had money taken from them. Now we know how much
Under funding changes announced in 2021, principals were told they needed to spend any accumulated money. How much was taken can now be revealed.
- by Christopher Harris
Sydney University accused of ‘gold plating’ campus with foreign enrolments around 50 per cent
University chiefs have slammed Labor’s proposed international student caps as Sydney University is accused of swimming in ‘rivers of gold’ from foreign fees.
- by Daniella White
Most uni bosses make more than $1 million. When this one got the job, he asked for a pay cut
Most Australian vice chancellors are paid more than $1 million. This university boss thinks that’s too high.
- by Daniella White