Today’s physics news: Friday, 15 January

Shadow science minister’s comments on disposability of advisers

Adam Afriyie made rather controversial comments about the disposability of independent scientific advisers at CaSE’s party political science debate on Wednesday evening. Times Higher reports on the comments.
THE

Ofsted reports on innovative methods to enthuse

Schools are using ever more innovative ways to engage students with maths and science. From catwalks to crime scenes, Ofsted asserts that creative methods in the classroom appear to help learning.
Daily Telegraph

School league tables and iGCSEs

With the publication of school league tables there has been a range of news stories on the distorting effect of private schools that ‘shun’ conventional GCSEs and A-levels for more challenging qualifications, such as iGCSEs. The Telegraph reports on a call from ‘head of top-ranked’ school for more difficult qualifications.
Guardian
Daily Telegraph

UK lures foreign hi-tech entrepreneurs

In an article that appears to go against the economic doom-mongerers, The Independent reports on a number of hi-tech international entrepreneurs who believe the UK is the best place to settle.
The Independent

Mandelson refutes threat to unis

Peter Mandelson has written in The Guardian, as Minister with overall responsibility for universities, to assert that there is no threat to UK universities, after the Russell Group warned earlier this week of catastrophic cuts.
Guardian