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Presents the views of British newspapers on various issues in Great Britain. Criticism of education official David Blunkett; State of comprehensive schools in England and Wales; Establishment of a local government in Bristol, England.

Reports on the distinction of Hereward College in Coventry, England of being the first special college to gain the British Standard 5750 award in recognition of its quality assurance. Cost of the benchmarking; Review of the process; Initiation of the review of management in 1991; Benefits of improved management systems for staff and management as well as in relationships with outside clients and suppliers.

The article reports on the paper released by the 157 Group of leading colleges in Great Britain regarding the confusion brought by the Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) labels. The paper highlights the issue raised by New College Nottingham principal Geoff Hall stating that the traditional differentiation of the FE and HE did not fits the way students perceived their studies. He adds that not all students enrolled in the HE institutions are of traditional profile of an FE student.

The article offers news briefs for the Great Britain area. Ted Ingram who started delivering papers since 1942 continues to do his job at the age of 90. The Trent College in Nottinghamshire, England is one of the entrants in the annual "Tough Guy" challenge, which features 100 obstacles which include jumping through fire. A Saudi Arabian student is facing fines amounting to 62,000 pounds for an array of traffic violations since 2008 and to pay 17,000 pounds for the release of his impounded 4x4.

Discusses the revisions in England's national curriculum which went out to consultation in May 1999. Changes planned for September 2000; Comments from British Education Secretary David Blunkett in his consultation paper; Summary of the proposed changes. INSET: All change in Welsh schools.

The author, a former editor of the "New Statesman," comments on how several of Great Britain's newspapers reported the shooting death of 11-year-old Rhys Jones in Liverpool, England. He notes how both conservative- and liberal-leaning papers found ways to blame educators, albeit from different angles. He states that for any social problem involving people under that age of 40, the media will blame teachers to some extent. He lists several non-educational factors contributing to social breakdown.

Discusses the move of Cambridge University in England to abolish its entrance examination in favor of the British government's world-class tests. Significance of the abolition taken in the recruitment of state-school pupils; Role of the world class test to the government package of A-level reforms; Introduction of the Sixth Term Examination Papers to universities.

Reports on the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in physical education. Statistics on GSCE test results in Great Britain; Details on a syllabus which involves coursework and written papers with questions on physiology, health, safety, training and participation; Information on the sports college, Barking Abbey School in London.

Reports on the response of education officials in Hertfordshire, England to the British government's two White Papers that set national targets for education and training to improve competitiveness. Evaluation of performance of local schools; County council projections showing how students were likely to perform at A-level.

Reports that parents at Chinley Primary School in Derbyshire, England voted in favor of the grant-maintained status. Opt-out opponents' claim that at least four parents were not issued ballot papers; Governors' support for grant-maintained status.

Describes the News Education Centre, a computer-packed classroom in Portsmouth, England, where visitors can learn how a newspaper is put together. Portsmouth's evening paper `The News'; Primary, secondary and college students' use of the facilities; Desktop publishing technology; Awards received by the center; Application of the center across the curriculum; Children's motivation through the medium.

Reports on the implications of cuts made by the University of London Examinations and Assessment Council for the marking of French papers. Fears of a shortage of qualified examiners; Attribution of move to the discovery of inadvertent overcharging; Effect of making the recruitment of examiners difficult.