news 2013

A clinical aptitude test originally pioneered by The University of Nottingham has been proven to be a significant predictor of performance in medical students. The UKCAT was launched in 2006 in response to a need to widen access to medical education and provide a supplementary assessment in the context of so-called A level grade inflation.

Earlier this month the "Too Much, Too Soon" campaign made headlines with a letter calling for a change to the start age for formal learning in schools. Here, one of the signatories, Cambridge researcher David Whitebread, explains why children may need more time to develop before their formal education begins in earnest.

20 Jun 2013 The University of Manchester's social work degree programmes have become one of the first five higher education institutions (HEIs) to be endorsed by the College of Social Work. The College of Social Work has launched the endorsement scheme for higher education institutions aimed at providing a kite mark of quality to qualifying social work degree programmes.

A worldwide consortium of researchers including academics from the University of Bristol has found that tiny differences across person's genetic sequences are associated with educational level. Philipp Koellinger from the Erasmus School of Economics explained: "The unique feature of our study is that we looked at a sample of unprecedented size in social science genetics research.

Imperial researchers develop model to more accurately describe the motion of soft matter particles. Chemical engineers and mathematicians from Imperial College London have put their heads together to create a new model that more accurately describes the motion of soft matter particles. Ben Goddard, a research associate who works with Professor Serafim Kalliadasis in the Department of Chemical Engineering, sat down to talk about soft matter materials, such as paints and sponges, and how their model can be applied in fields ranging from nanotechnology to environmental science.