Education
How these schools are teaching their way out of a national maths crisis
Australia has been too slow to scrap “faddish, unproven” maths teaching methods, a new report says. These schools have found the secret to success.
- by Lucy Carroll
Latest
Editorial
Parents should heed social media warnings given to their kids
Eastern suburbs private school Cranbrook had to write to parents last week to shut down rumours spread on WhatsApp.
- The Herald's View
Helicopter parents have become WhatsApp warriors. Schools are in the crossfire
The source of truth about school business was once the printed newsletter, or parent-teacher night. Now, there’s the parent WhatsApp chat.
- by Christopher Harris
Inside this Sydney private school’s $60 million castle
Eastern suburbs private school Scots College will this week unveil the faux baronial castle after years of delay and budget blowouts.
- by Lucy Carroll
Editorial
A culture war over public and private schools fails everyone
The head of the NSW Education Department is wrong to question the existence of private schools and needs to get his own schools in order.
- The Herald's View
‘We support parent choice’: Uproar over NSW schools chief’s push to reconsider private schools
Premier Chris Minns says his government is “certainly not” going to take away options for parents after NSW’s head of public schools questioned if private schools should exist.
- by Lucy Carroll and Christopher Harris
NSW Education Department boss questions existence of private schools
Murat Dizdar has slighted his private sector counterparts by suggesting the education system could be better off without Catholic and independent schools.
- by Christopher Harris and Lucy Carroll
The three rules that rocketed this Sydney school up the HSC rankings
Boys are over-represented among struggling school students and under-represented in policy attention. Here’s how Balgowlah Boys and Marist College Eastwood found success.
- by Lucy Carroll
Exclusive
‘They can’t even tie their shoelaces’: How young is too young for a school laptop?
Frustrated parents are pushing back against school technology policies that can ask students as young as six to bring devices to class each day.
- by Lucy Carroll
ICAC to probe former School Infrastructure NSW boss
The state’s powerful anti-corruption body is investigating allegations bureaucrats from School Infrastructure awarded lucrative contracts to friends and business associates.
- by Lucy Carroll
Exclusive
We learnt how much funding NSW schools receive: What does yours get?
Top selective schools James Ruse and North Sydney Boys benefited from parent contributions upwards of $2000 per student. Search our table to see how your school fares.
- by Christopher Harris
Opinion
Detaining school parents is a bit much, but banning them makes sense
Teachers are fleeing the classroom, and monstrous parents are often to blame.
- by Jenna Price
Number of schools caught by NAPLAN writing scandal grows
Academic integrity experts say the advent of artificial intelligence has made high-stakes tests such as NAPLAN more susceptible to cheating.
- by Christopher Harris
Employers want workers back in the office. How do parents of young children cope?
As more families have both parents working full-time and employers impose return-to-office policies, a new report recommends an overhaul of outside school hours care.
- by Lucy Carroll
The battle between Shore school and its former headmaster
Tim Petterson is alleging a breach of employment contract, but the institution says concerns were raised about his “performance and conduct” before he was dismissed in 2022.
- by Lucy Carroll
Exclusive
Revealed: The state’s most improved schools in the HSC
The NSW Education Department has identified 24 schools as the most improved in lifting band 4, 5 and 6 results over the past eight years.
- by Lucy Carroll
Exclusive
Staffer at top Sydney private girls’ school charged over alleged tech theft
The head of Ascham School’s IT department allegedly stole tens of thousands of dollars worth of computers and sold the equipment on an online marketplace.
- by Lucy Carroll and Perry Duffin
Schoolgirls, 11 and 13, arrested after allegedly assaulting staff and police
The two girls plunged a NSW school into lockdown when they allegedly attempted to assault a fellow student before turning on staff.
- by Jessica McSweeney
Elly and Imogen’s parents made a clever decision 15 years ago. Now it’s paying off
The Sydney Metro is having a huge impact on schools in North Sydney – and the Wageners were ahead of the curve.
- by Christopher Harris
Exclusive
This program is helping girls stay in school, but NSW students are missing out
NSW is the only state that doesn’t fund endometriosis and pain workshops for public school students despite research revealing one in four girls miss classes due to period pain.
- by Emily Kaine and Angus Thomson
Universities must do more to improve campus experience
In one of the world’s most expensive cities, and after a pandemic changed the way we work and learn, the campus lifestyle is increasingly a thing of the past.
- by The Herald's View
The NSW university that wants to halve students’ rent
The head of the University of NSW says he will double the amount of student housing it offers at half the cost of private providers.
- by Christopher Harris
How the Trump White House is causing headaches for our universities
The Australian Academy of Science will call on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to hold an emergency meeting as more institutions are hit by questions from the US.
- by Christopher Harris
The Sydney students forced to take the NAPLAN test again
Some schools were hit by a technical issue which meant they could access predictive text and spellcheck.
- by Christopher Harris
In NSW, swimming lessons started in 1880. Now some schools struggle to put a relay team together
After nationwide research showed participation in school swimming carnivals had plunged, experts say a lot of students are missing out on key skills.
- by Julie Power and Frances Howe
School swimming carnivals are dying. It’s putting a generation at risk
One in four schools around Australia have abandoned the annual swimming carnival, research shows, as Royal Life Saving Australia sounds the alarm over safety.
- by Julie Power
Exclusive
‘I’m sure it will happen’: James Ruse High’s plan to return to No.1 revealed
For 27 years, the selective school reigned at the top of HSC league tables until 2023, when it was dethroned by North Sydney Boys.
- by Christopher Harris
More parents want a private school scholarship. Marks are not always enough
The number of applicants for some private school scholarship tests has increased by about 30 per cent in the past few years.
- by Christopher Harris
‘Pass this now’: Greens offer to help Labor ‘Dutton-proof’ key measures
In a letter penned to Anthony Albanese this week, Greens leader Adam Bandt had three key requests.
- by Millie Muroi
Scots College’s multimillion-dollar ‘vanity’ castle to finally open
For years, CBD has dined out on the trials and tribulations of Scots College’s garish new student centre modelled on a Scottish baronial castle.
- by Kishor Napier-Raman, Stephen Brook and Cara Waters
Professors hit back at universities that are ‘no longer about education’
As top institutions are accused of putting money before academic integrity, one university has cut back on graduation ceremonies and said it would give students a “coveted” rubber duck.
- by Christopher Harris
The subject students are failing – can you pass the quiz?
An analysis of Australian international test results shows some pupils are almost four years behind in learning due to maths anxiety.
- by Christopher Harris
Exclusive
The ‘fully funded’ Sydney selective school desperate for donations
One of Sydney’s top-performing public schools will seek to cut costs and ask parents to pay more after its budget was slashed.
- by Lucy Carroll and Christopher Harris
Exclusive
‘Not problems to be capped’: NSW treasurer defends international students
International education is second only to coal in terms of NSW’s export industries. Would a cap on overseas student numbers put that at risk?
- by Alexandra Smith and Matt Wade
How Cyclone Alfred is impacting Northern NSW
Supermarkets, health clinics, transport, schools and roads have all been impacted by Cyclone Alfred. Here’s what you need to know.
- by Kayla Olaya
Exclusive
The major NAPLAN change coming to schools
Teachers will get maths and reading results almost instantly under a plan by the national curriculum authority.
- by Nick Newling
SMH Schools Summit 2025 as it happened: Prue Car speaks after funding deal, selective schools in the spotlight
Sydney’s education thought leaders have gathered at ICC Sydney for The Sydney Morning Herald School Summit.
- by Nick Newling
Editorial
Comprehensive schools carry a disproportionate burden of disadvantage
The SMH Schools Summit 2025 will hear radical proposals for selective public schools and private schools to share the load of disadvantaged students.
- The Herald's View
Former education chief’s call to curb new selective schools
Michele Bruniges will use a speech at The Sydney Morning Herald Schools Summit on Wednesday to outline how public schools disproportionately educate disadvantaged students.
- by Christopher Harris
This north shore school catchment shake-up blindsided parents. Now there’s a delay
A controversial change to the catchment zone of one of Sydney’s top-performing comprehensive schools, Killara High, has been pushed back.
- by Nick Newling
Editorial
New homes without new schools is shooting planning in the foot
The Minns government has shelved plans to build schools in the very suburbs it has earmarked for housing development.
- The Herald's View
Exclusive
Thousands of NSW primary school students to sit new mathematics test
The teacher-run 15-minute test will check students’ maths skills in counting, ordering numbers and simple addition and subtraction.
- by Lucy Carroll and Christopher Harris
Albanese clears $4.8bn hurdle in race to federal election
The federal government will lift its share of NSW school funding in a similar deal to a $2.5 billion agreement with Victoria five weeks ago.
- by David Crowe
It’s one of the north shore’s most prized school catchments - and it just shrank
Families pay a median price of $3.3 million to live in Killara. Now, many of them won’t get their kids into Killara High.
- by Nick Newling
Opinion
To win parents’ votes, put their kids first – with childcare that hits home
There’s evidence that children aged under three are more stressed in childcare centres than at home. Working parents need options.
- by Parnell Palme McGuinness
The principal who made a pact with parents about what happens after school
Bans and restrictions on use and type of mobile phones are gaining traction.
- by Christopher Harris
Exclusive
These north shore schools have been shelved but thousands of new homes are coming
Plans for an education precinct at St Leonards and a new Chatswood public primary school were earmarked under the former government.
- by Lucy Carroll
Private schools lobby vows federal election fight over ‘class-war rhetoric’
Seventeen seats have been designated “ground zero” in a campaign to pressure major parties to shore up billions of dollars in public funding.
- by Bridie Smith
Original URL: https://www.smh.com.au/education