Education
This Sydney school ditched screens for a week. Here’s what happened
Research was done using hard copy textbooks; teachers photocopied class notes; and essays were drafted by hand.
- by Lucy Carroll
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Exclusive
Cranbrook appoints first female head after scandal
The Sydney private boys’ school, which will become co-educational from 2026, has appointed its first female head in its more than 100-year history.
- by Lucy Carroll
‘Difficult, cold and abstract’: Why girls feel helpless in this school subject
Would you feel confident calculating the cost of a computer with added tax? Forty per cent of Australian teenagers do not, an international report says.
- by Christopher Harris
‘We’ve been ignored’: The Sydney girls school devastated over move to co-ed
Four single-sex high schools in Sydney’s south and north will be transformed into co-educational campuses from 2026.
- by Lucy Carroll
Opinion
How you vote now comes down to one variable above all
Electoral allegiances have changed so much, poll watchers have had to come up with new names for political brands. So, do you vote GAL or TAN?
- by Ross Gittins
Revealed: The top Sydney school caught in racism storm
The former principal of James Ruse has spoken to parents over the use of overtly racist language, including the N-word and students being called “slaves”.
- by Christopher Harris
University investigates papers by top Australian cancer researchers after retractions
The University of Newcastle has launched a review into several scientific papers co-authored by two leading researchers after integrity concerns were raised.
- by Liam Mannix
Opinion
Childcare subsidy won’t deliver for children, families or taxpayers
It’s safe to say the cost of childcare may come in as a close second in deterring parents-to-be from starting a family.
- by Georgie Dent
Opinion
New data reveals how far Australian workplaces still have to go on harassment
The research shows that at a leadership level in particular, engagement with harassment policies is lagging.
- by Kate Jenkins
‘Another burden on families’: Parents push back against extra pupil-free days
The number of school development days at NSW public schools will rise from six to eight from next year, moving back the first day of term 1 to February 6.
- by Lucy Carroll
Exclusive
Thirty allegations of serious crimes – including sexual assault – lodged with parliament’s support service
The allegations prompted Brittany Higgins to ask if perpetrators working at the nation’s capital are being held to account.
- by Olivia Ireland
Exclusive
Sydney private school fees to increase by as much as 9 per cent
Parents will face school fee hikes in 2025 as teacher pay rises and surging operational costs drive up prices.
- by Lucy Carroll
Studying in the locker room: How Henry balanced his HSC with professional sport
Among the 20,000 students cramming for the HSC Business Studies exam, 17-year-old Henry Lau had his notes out in the Sydney Kings locker room.
- by Daniel Lo Surdo
‘Just relieved it’s all over’: Summer starts for final HSC students
The biggest cohort of students in the state’s history, 71,619 pupils, can now say goodbye to school textbooks, teachers and HSC exam stress.
- by Christopher Harris
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
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