General News Thread

[st albans fox]

Public schools generally outperform their state school equivalents 

so those students parachuted into state schools will usually raise the standard of those schools in the short term. 
 

that’s clearly not sustainable and like I said - slight 

 

you can argue that black is white but its factual that exam performance reflects demographics across a wide enough sample. 

[davieG]

5 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

Public schools generally outperform their state school equivalents 

so those students parachuted into state schools will usually raise the standard of those schools in the short term. 
 

that’s clearly not sustainable and like I said - slight 

 

you can argue that black is white but its factual that exam performance reflects demographics across a wide enough sample. 

Is that because they have smaller classes, the best paid, so probably better teachers, better facilities. I'm sure that must have an impact on the level of success.

 

[Greg2607]

Just now, davieG said:

Is that because they have smaller classes, the best paid, so probably better teachers, better facilities. I'm sure that must have an impact on the level of success.

 

Seagrave says Hi! 

[st albans fox]

7 minutes ago, davieG said:

Is that because they have smaller classes, the best paid, so probably better teachers, better facilities. I'm sure that must have an impact on the level of success.

 

It definitely helps!

 

[Zear0]

12 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

Public schools generally outperform their state school equivalents 

so those students parachuted into state schools will usually raise the standard of those schools in the short term. 
 

that’s clearly not sustainable and like I said - slight 

 

you can argue that black is white but its factual that exam performance reflects demographics across a wide enough sample. 

As Dave said above, they achieve better results not because they're more capable, but they come from wealthier backgrounds with educational advantages that other children don't have.

 

I just don't really get the point you're trying to make.  That children with smaller class sizes, better resources, parents more successful and likely to be more engaged in their education will outperform other kids?  No s**t springs to mind.

[kenny]

9 minutes ago, Zear0 said:

As Dave said above, they achieve better results not because they're more capable, but they come from wealthier backgrounds with educational advantages that other children don't have.

 

I just don't really get the point you're trying to make.  That children with smaller class sizes, better resources, parents more successful and likely to be more engaged in their education will outperform other kids?  No s**t springs to mind.

The last point is the one that makes the biggest difference IMO.

 

As an aside my boy has tiny class sizes (11) and he doesn't get pushed as hard as he needs. He is now getting work from the year above as it's a mixed class, which has helped, I've asked what happens next year when he is in the older half and they have no idea.

 

I doubt frequent trips to the school to advise them that he finds it too easy would have been necessary in a private setting.

[Super_horns]

Sounds like not only was the execution a mess the emergency phone calls were too .

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cqpvgrkp0xpyo

 

Maybe unsurprisingly the emergency services thought it was a hoax .

[Zear0]

9 minutes ago, kenny said:

The last point is the one that makes the biggest difference IMO.

 

As an aside my boy has tiny class sizes (11) and he doesn't get pushed as hard as he needs. He is now getting work from the year above as it's a mixed class, which has helped, I've asked what happens next year when he is in the older half and they have no idea.

 

I doubt frequent trips to the school to advise them that he finds it too easy would have been necessary in a private setting.

I actually don't agree with the VAT on then.  It seems a bit of a win win situation to having fewer kids in state schools and more jobs being created.

 

My kids (1 in, 1 going next year) are going to state school, but I also have private healthcare that also isn't subject to VAT.  I don't see any difference between private school and healthcare.

 

Was solely the suggestion having rich parents makes you more intelligent I was challenging.

[leicsmac]

11 minutes ago, Super_horns said:

Sounds like not only was the execution a mess the emergency phone calls were too .

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cqpvgrkp0xpyo

 

Maybe unsurprisingly the emergency services thought it was a hoax .

Well, that's all very small town American. 

[Zear0]

3 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Well, that's all very small town American. 

Sometimes need to pinch myself and remember that this the country that put men on the moon.

[kenny]

1 minute ago, Zear0 said:

I actually don't agree with the VAT on then.  It seems a bit of a win win situation to having fewer kids in state schools and more jobs being created.

 

My kids (1 in, 1 going next year) are going to state school, but I also have private healthcare that also isn't subject to VAT.  I don't see any difference between private school and healthcare.

 

Was solely the suggestion having rich parents makes you more intelligent I was challenging.

Most people are intelligent in one way or another. Having motivated and engaged parents will always bring the best of what abilities their children have, people with wealth (contrary to many claim) are often motivated and engaged which will inlcude their childrens education.

 

The VAT on schools is simply wrong, its a class tax that probably loses money, we will know for certain by the end of the pariliament.

 

There is also the effect of 'brain drain' on the UK as our private education system is very attractive to foreign investors. I have been told that the VAT has caused a significant drop off in these foreign children coming in, they dont end up in our state system, but likewise, they are less likely to stay in our universities and then become the best and brightest. It isn't extra fee thats the issue with these, its the message the UK sends to families that private school is in some way bad.

 

Great news for the British Schools that operate in Lisbon, their numbers have trebled in the past few years and are increasing as foreign families are going there instead. (VAT free) 

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, Zear0 said:

Sometimes need to pinch myself and remember that this the country that put men on the moon.

With a little help from ex-Nazi scientists and engineers courtesy of Operation Paperclip. 

Edited 4 hours ago by leicsmac

[Jattdogg]

1 hour ago, Zear0 said:

Sometimes need to pinch myself and remember that this the country that put men on the moon.

Did they really?

[bovril]

1 hour ago, Zear0 said:

Sometimes need to pinch myself and remember that this the country that put men on the moon.

Kubrick really was a genius

[leicsmac]

11 minutes ago, bovril said:

Kubrick really was a genius

And such a perfectionist he insisted on filming on location. 

[bovril]

6 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

And such a perfectionist he insisted on filming on location. 

He didn't like flying, it was filmed in a Hertfordshire studio that's now a Little Waitrose

[kenny]

12 hours ago, Parafox said:

I've got a bottle of Moet chilling ready for my imminent birthday.

 

They'd better leave my fridge alone. Bastards.

 

Quote

 

Rogue AI models may 'self-replicate' to hijack household devices, Anthropic says

Claude developer Anthropic has warned that rogue “AI worms” will soon be able to hijack household smart devices such as ovens and TVs.

The company said in a blog post on Monday that AI agents could be “months away” from “self-replicating” across “internet-of-things” devices, such as smart ovens and off-brand Android TVs.

It is the latest in a series of warnings by AI researchers and companies, as developments in the field continue at pace.

Anthropic said in a research post that it is “seeing signs of life for AI worms.”

We don’t yet have a full rogue replicator, but agents are becoming increasingly capable of completing the individual steps in the replication chain (and passing on their adaptations to future copies of themselves).

…It’s uncertain exactly what form autonomous AI replication will take. It could be a slow, distributed “digital slime mold,” living on relatively insecure compute. It could also be a powerful cyber model that breaches datacenters at a high pace, or a model that scams people for compute credits.

Smart devices in homes could be the first target for attacks as they are connected to the internet and historically have had minimal security measures in place, Anthropic said.

 

 

Change your wifi password so your fridge doesn't turn itself off or its warm champers for you!

[st albans fox]

3 hours ago, Zear0 said:

As Dave said above, they achieve better results not because they're more capable, but they come from wealthier backgrounds with educational advantages that other children don't have.

 

I just don't really get the point you're trying to make.  That children with smaller class sizes, better resources, parents more successful and likely to be more engaged in their education will outperform other kids?  No s**t springs to mind.

3 hours ago, kenny said:

The last point is the one that makes the biggest difference IMO.

 

As an aside my boy has tiny class sizes (11) and he doesn't get pushed as hard as he needs. He is now getting work from the year above as it's a mixed class, which has helped, I've asked what happens next year when he is in the older half and they have no idea.

 

I doubt frequent trips to the school to advise them that he finds it too easy would have been necessary in a private setting.

It was a throw away comment that a tiny positive consequence of the the policy will be a v small uptick in some state school’s exam results 

 

it wasn’t supposed to start a debate on private v public schooling 

 

and I agree with your comment re pushing the kids - all mine have attended state schools and my main gripe over the years has been that the more able ones weren’t pushed to achieve the exam results they could have. 

Edited 1 hour ago by st albans fox

[Trav Le Bleu]

3 hours ago, davieG said:

Is that because they have smaller classes, the best paid, so probably better teachers, better facilities. I'm sure that must have an impact on the level of success.

 

It's not because they're better students.

 

I would guess that state school kids work harder because they have to if they want to get ahead. Public school students are already ahead from day 1.

 

Which has just made me think...

 

A lot of people in comfortably well off positions complain about paying taxes so that the welfare system can give, as they see it, something for nothing to the working classes, who should work dammit!

 

But could it be argued that, especially the very wealthy, get everything given to them with little or no effort themselves? Born with a silver spoon and all that. If many of them tried to regularly do manual labour work or low level admin, and the same pay, they would mostly give up.

 

Food for thought.

[davieG]

BBC

Three things we've learnt about the UK economy from the IMF

Image source,Getty Images

ByMitchell Labiak

Business reporter

 

Countries around the world have had their future economic prospects assessed by influential body, the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

What the IMF says matters – it aims to keep the global economy stable and its twice-yearly forecasts are one of the most authoritative looks at what is really going on around the world.

Yet like all forecasts they can also turn out to be incorrect, so they shouldn't be treated as gospel.

Here are three things we've learnt about the UK from the IMF's latest report.

 

1. The UK is weathering the Iran war better than expected

The global economy has been rocked by the US-Israel war with Iran.

The transportation and production of energy in the Middle East has been severely disrupted, causing oil prices to jump and inflation to rise.

To calm the rate of price rises, central banks, including the Bank of England, are expected to hike interest rates in the coming months.

Despite all this, the IMF said the global economy is doing much better than expected, partly because of the surge of investment into artificial intelligence (AI).

And this is good news for the UK. The IMF said its economy would expand by 1.3% in 2026, up from the 1% it predicted in July, before slowing in 2027.

A growing economy means companies are investing more and hiring more people while shoppers have more money to spend. A shrinking economy means the reverse is true.

 

2. The UK is doing better than other major economies

There is increased concern about how much money countries are borrowing, but the IMF said the UK is doing better than all other major economies at this.

The IMF said the UK "basically stands out, along with India" when it comes to addressing the problem and by 2031 it is projected to have the lowest annual borrowing of the G7 group of countries, which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US.

Sir Howard Davies, former deputy governor of the Bank of England, said this was largely because the UK has a government with a majority which has committed to tackling the situation, which it is expected to achieve either through tax rises, cuts to public services, or a mix of both.

By contrast, he says the US has said little about reducing its deficit, while France and Germany don't have majority governments.

"So, we [the UK] are not great students, but we look somewhat better than some of the others we are sharing the class with," he said.

Meanwhile, the IMF's growth forecasts for the UK mean it is expected to have the second-fastest growing economy in the G7 this year along with Germany.

Sir Howard believes this should also be seen in context.

"We're still growing slowly. It's almost like saying we're winning a slow bicycle race here because other people are going backwards a bit more rapidly than we are."

 

3. But things could get worse

While the IMF boosted its projection for the UK's growth in 2026, it slightly downgraded its forecasts for next year.

While the UK has handled the economic fallout from the Iran war better than expected so far, it says this will change next year as high energy prices and elevated interest rates affect how much people spend in shops and how much companies are willing to invest.

In addition, the IMF has said households are likely to continue feeling the pinch of rising prices. It forecasts inflation in the UK will average 3.3% this year and it has raised its estimate for next year to 2.8% from its previous prediction of 2.4%.

"There will be increasing inflationary pressure put on the UK and the Bank of England will have to consider further rate rises," says Tim Armitage, investment strategist at Quilter Cheviot.

He added that at least one rate rise is predicted this year, with more expected to come next year.