Education
New James Ruse principal poached from top rival school
North Sydney Boys deputy Matthew Dopierala will take up the principal’s position at rival selective school James Ruse, which ended its 27-year-reign as the top-ranked school last year.
- by Christopher Harris
Latest
The private schools, the pigeons and the anonymous letter
Animal activists have described the practice as cruel but pigeon-fanciers say they are well looked after and it is better for the environment.
- by Christopher Harris
Criticising HECS changes misses the bigger picture
If Richardson wishes to campaign against tax breaks for those on higher incomes, he could choose to start with superannuation, family trusts, negative gearing, capital gains discounts and franking credits.
Editorial
Give them a break: Cutting student debt is a good investment
While Australians should contribute to the cost of their tertiary education, the current system has imposed an unreasonable burden on many young people.
- The Herald's View
University fees to be reviewed nationwide in next phase of education overhaul
Labor has announced plans to cut student debt by 20 per cent but a planned government commission could permanently change fee structures.
- by Paul Sakkal
Exclusive
Five students were caught cheating. Now it’s gone to court in a landmark case
The Federal Court will hear an Australian-first case after five students allegedly used a major company to cheat on their work.
- by Daniella White
‘Profoundly unfair’: Coalition attacks Labor’s HECS debt cut plan
Australia will go to the polls with Labor proposing to slash student debts by 20 per cent and the Coalition lashing it as a burden on the rest of the country.
- by Olivia Ireland
Opinion
Why Albanese’s HECS gift is a reverse-Robin Hood
If we give a $16 billion tax break to people on higher incomes who went to university, then we’ll have to get that pound of flesh from the people who didn’t.
- by Chris Richardson
Exclusive
University of Sydney attacks ‘misleading’ figures as hundreds of sector jobs go
The university has accused the government of providing misleading figures about its foreign student cohort.
- by Daniella White
Opinion
Albanese’s HECS relief won’t fix the core problem – the fees system is broken
Student debt has reached about $81 billion. The government receives far more in student repayments than it does from the gas industry through the petroleum resource rent tax.
- by George Williams
Exclusive
Students could sit longer HSC exams in planned creative arts syllabus overhaul
Drama students could complete the HSC without external assessment and the music exam time would double under a proposal to overhaul the curriculum.
- by Christopher Harris
Building a 2025 election win: Albanese starts campaign early
The next federal poll isn’t due until May, but the prime minister has kicked off proceedings with another large education promise aimed at TAFE.
- by Shane Wright
Editorial
Move to provide relief from crippling student loans is long overdue
Every Australian with a student debt will be relieved to learn the government has finally heeded their distress.
- The Herald's View
Labor to wipe 20 per cent of HECS debts in $16 billion move
Tradespeople and university graduates will have a fifth of their student loans wiped in a striking Labor pledge to ease the debt burden on younger Australians.
- by Paul Sakkal
Graduates to get early career reprieve from crippling student debts
The salary threshold at which student loans must be repaid will rise more than $10,000 a year under a federal Labor policy shift that will make the average HELP debt-holder $680 a year better off.
- by James Massola
The big business of university philanthropy: UNSW lands largest ever donation
Big universities are increasingly relying on philanthropy to fund major projects.
- by Daniella White
Exclusive
Radical plan to slash student debts by tens of thousands of dollars
University debts could be slashed by up to 20 per cent under an Albanese government plan targeted at young voters.
- by Paul Sakkal
Exclusive
Sydney Grammar’s $39 million inner-city expansion plans revealed
One of the state’s oldest all-boys schools has bought a large inner-city office block that was once the headquarters of Sony Australia.
- by Lucy Carroll
Analysis
Latest St Paul’s scandal shows how quickly the proverbial car can hurtle out of control
Reforms have fundamentally transformed Australia’s oldest university college. But a serious bullying incident shows those in charge can never take their hands off the steering wheel.
- by Jordan Baker
Craig Foster un-cancelled by Sydney Grammar parents
After the $40,000-a-year school controversially axed a lecture from the Socceroo-turned human rights campaigner, a group of parents stepped in.
- by Kishor Napier-Raman and Stephen Brook
Graphic content
Minister condemns St Paul’s College bullying scandal where student was gagged with sex toy
The incident that led to six people being expelled from the Sydney University college involved a mock trial with another student playing judge.
- by Jessica McSweeney, Lucy Carroll and Christopher Harris
Auburn South Primary School principal issues statement following death of grade 5 student
Marcus Wicher says the school community is grieving the "complete tragedy" that killed one child and injured four others on Tuesday.
‘Actually relevant to life’: The HSC subject popular with 20,000 students
The business studies exam is second only to the English advanced course and has overtaken biology in terms of popularity. Can you pass our quiz?
- by Christopher Harris
Exclusive
Students expelled, suspended over St Paul’s College bullying
The Sydney University residential college has expelled students over “humiliation-type behaviours” among male students last week.
- by Lucy Carroll
More pupil-free days and better teacher pay: The changes coming for NSW public schools
The state’s teachers agreed to a three-year pay offer from the NSW government on Monday morning. Here’s what else is included under the deal.
- by Daniel Lo Surdo and Lucy Carroll
Exclusive
Why Australia’s maths crisis is at a tipping point and how we can fix it
HSC advanced maths, physics and chemistry enrolments have fallen, but experts say there are ways to reverse the decline.
- by Lucy Carroll
This HSC subject unfairly advantages elite school students, critics say
A leading lecturer in music education is concerned students are punished for studying certain types of music, but scaling experts say the system is fair.
- by Christopher Harris
Steely Dan and Taxi Driver: Meet the 21-year-olds obsessed with the 1970s
Jose Da Costa and Shankari Kathirgamalingam – both born in 2003 – have created the University of Sydney’s inaugural 1970s club.
- by Daniel Lo Surdo
Exclusive
Teenagers are still reading Diary of a Wimpy Kid. Do we have a reading problem?
Teenagers are consuming fewer books that require sustained focus, which is negatively affecting the size of their vocabularies.
- by Christopher Harris
Former Sydney student set to receive over $1m for violent bullying attack
The “appalling” assault on the then 14-year-old was filmed and posted to Instagram, a NSW Supreme Court judge said.
- by Michaela Whitbourn
Opinion
At school, they advised me to become a vet. They were so wrong
There’s so much pressure on school finishers to know what they want to do with their lives, but it’s a lifetime process.
- by Cherie Gilmour
Staff at these top unis were found to favour white students. Then came the threatening calls
Academics responded more positively to emails from prospective students named “Melissa” compared to “Rahul”.
- by Daniella White
Schools to start late, cancel classes as thousands of teachers stop work
Parents have been told there will be minimal supervision at the state’s schools on Monday.
- by Lucy Carroll
A Nazi cartoon featured in this year’s HSC exam. Some private school students had seen it before
A cartoon that was used in trial exams purchased by numerous private schools reappeared in the HSC.
- by Christopher Harris
More than 3500 students faced the toughest HSC maths question. Bowen solved it
Students sat the gruelling three-hour HSC maths extension 2 paper on Monday, with students quizzed on mechanics and complex numbers.
- by Lucy Carroll
Watch student Bowen Wu solve one of the hardest HSC mathematics questions
Question 16 of the HSC mathematics extension 2 is the most difficult of the three-hour exam.
New Sydney Uni chancellor weighs in on Mark Scott controversy after months of turmoil
New chancellor David Thodey said the university sector was under unprecedented scrutiny in politics and the media.
- by Daniella White
HSC maths exam asks for more words and fewer numbers. Can you pass the test?
It is the second year in a row that mathematics students have been told to eschew calculations in their exam for some questions and answer in sentences instead.
- by Christopher Harris
Hundreds of parents appeal their child’s rejection from selective school. Only a handful will win
Analysts say the proliferation of coaching colleges is giving parents false hope and misguided notions about how talented their child is.
- by Christopher Harris
Exclusive
This controversial image stumped HSC students. Now its creator is weighing in
The person behind the controversial image used in Tuesday’s English HSC exam has confirmed that it was made by artificial intelligence.
- by Daniel Lo Surdo
Exclusive
‘Google Translate, fractured English’: The sandstone unis accused of dropping academic standards
Universities have been accused of compromising standards to accommodate for an influx of foreign students in postgraduate degrees.
- by Daniella White
Parents condemn plans to bring Gaza protests into the classroom
The Parents & Citizens Federation has condemned some teachers’ plans for pro-Palestinian activism in our schools.
- by Max Maddison
‘Maths with a soul’: The HSC subject that has only 114 students
Few students have the opportunity to study Latin. Here’s how Friday’s Extension exam went for them.
- by Lucy Carroll
Sydney Grammar cancels Craig Foster talk
An upcoming speech from the former Socceroo turned human rights activist was abruptly pulled by the headmaster of the $45,000-a-year school this week.
- by Kishor Napier-Raman and Stephen Brook
Exclusive
Eight children ‘abused’, third daycare worker arrested in three days
It comes as a concerned mother demanded answers about one of the alleged offenders, who worked multiple shifts at her child’s inner-Sydney centre.
- by Amber Schultz
UK ‘education firebrand’ has lessons on transforming our schools
Nick Gibb led an ambitious suite of education reforms during his more than 10 years as Britain’s schools minister.
- by Lucy Carroll
‘Bit of a waste’: Students forced to abandon creative stories in HSC English twist
Advanced English students were met with a surprise on Wednesday when the final question asked them to ponder a world without the amenity of modern technology.
- by Daniel Lo Surdo
‘A strange question’: HSC students quizzed about smell in English exam
When 76,000 students sat down for their first test on Tuesday morning, they got a few surprises.
- by Christopher Harris
Exclusive
Governing body backs Sydney University boss Mark Scott amid resignation calls
One of the newest members of Sydney University’s senate has publicly supported the under-fire vice chancellor.
- by Daniella White
Exclusive
The HSC subjects being abandoned, and the courses that are skyrocketing
The proportion of HSC students enrolled in languages and chemistry has declined over the decade, while PDHPE and business studies numbers have surged.
- by Lucy Carroll