The building, which started life in 1888 as Dunstable Grammar School, has a Grade II listing but such a listing does not guarantee the building’s safety. It’s not unknown for developers who buy such buildings to leave them to deteriorate over a number of years and then to apply to the relevant council to have the listing set aside because of the condition of the building! Demolition can follow. The Facebook groups 'Dunstable -- Preserving the Past for the Future' and 'Dunstable Ashton Grammar School Campaign' are keen to ensure that not only the exterior but also the interior, which contains many beautiful architectural features, is not lost. The school is owned by Ashton Schools Foundation, which has put the site up for sale for housing development. Some of the school annexe buildings will be lost but it would be criminal if the main building and its features were also lost, especially as so many iconic buildings in Dunstable have already been demolished, and particularly as the town desperately needs a museum to keep its heritage alive. Please help us to preserve the building that educated such wonderful stars as the Oscar-winning Gary Cooper, Sam Kydd and the silent-screen and veteran talkies actor John Stuart, as well as Khawaja Nazimuddin (Prime Minister of Pakistan), Mike Bannister (chief pilot of Concorde), Roger Parrott (who played Neville Chamberlain in the film The King’s Speech) and Kevin McCloud MBE (presenter of Channel 4’s Grand Designs), who is already taking an active interest in preserving the school.

The political history taught in schools is hugely biased towards the actions of men. Shoehorning feminism and women's political achievements under the banner of "pressure groups" diminishes the important work women have done - and still are doing - to make politics more equal and representative. The new curriculum plans to only include one woman in the list of key political thinkers students will study - and the entire Suffragettes movement will only be taught in a section on pressure groups. Women have helped shape this world as much as men have and it's integral that we are recognised as political thinkers, as well as giving kids great female role models to look up to... whether they're boys, girls or anything else. When we remove women from the syllabus we teach young people that women have no impact on politics. At a time when fewer than one in three MPs are female this is a dangerous message to give out. The government has a responsibility to teach young men and women that every voice is important, not just the voices of those already in power. For the sake of the men and women of the future we need to hear about the women of the past. Stop airbrushing women out of our history.

Well I think nowadays students are targeted to pay in the system from an early age. I think that Education should be free or the loans should at least be halved than what is expecting of them today. I am really concern as I see I have my daughter who started this year and in 3/4 years time she will end up with a debt of £36000 + interests. In contract in France University fees are free what don't we follow their example. There isn't a single night when I go to bed and not thinking of my daughter. People might say it is ok but before their children end up paying only half of fee that is required for a year study. I am trouble by it as I am working mother who know the difficulties of life and how hard to have to work in order to have a good lie. I am stressed and so is my daughter. If she has decided to find a job after Six Form then she would have end up in a low paying job and struggle like her mum. I think the rich should be the one penalised and not the lower class.

A STUDENT RAILCARD COSTS £30, BUT DOES NOT COVER TRAVEL AT PEAK TIMES. THIS MEANS THAT, WHEN LECTURES START AT 9AM, THE CARD CANNOT BE USED, AS IT ISN'T VALID BEFORE 10AM.

At the end of last year the much loved University Settlement building in Splott was acquired by local property developer John Smart. His aim is to demolish the building and erect an inappropriate high block of flats. The University Settlement building was built in 1904 to house a movement that provided an education for all at the beginning of the 20th century in an age where this would have been unattainable and unaffordable for most working class people. Latterly it was the first St Illtyd’s Catholic Grammar School for Boys. The building, designed by renowned Arts and Crafts architect Robert Weir Schultz is the only remaining example of a University Settlement in Wales. Please join our eleventh hour petition in an appeal to John Smart not to demolish and the planning department of Cardiff City Council and Llywodraeth Cymru not to allow the destruction of this unique building. Mae adeiladau hanesyddol Anheddfan y Brifysgol wedi dod i feddiant y datblygwr eiddo lleol John Smart. Ei fwriad yw dymchwel yr adeilad ac adeiladu twr anaddas o fflatiau. Adeiladwyd adeilad Anheddfan y Brifysgol yn 1904 i roi cartre i fudiad oedd yn gyfrifrol am ddarparu addysg i bawb ar ddechrau’r 20fed Ganrif mewn oes lle na fyddai hynny o fewn cyrraedd trwch y boblogaeth. Dylunwyd yr adeilad gan y pensaer nodedig Robert Weir Schultz a dyma’r unig enghraifft o Anheddfan Prifysgol sydd wedi goroesi yng Nghymru. Ar yr unfed awr ar ddeg, a fyddech mor garedig ag arwyddo ein deiseb sy’n apelio at John Smart i beidio dymchwel, ac adran gynllunio Cyngor Caerdydd a Llywodraeth Cymru i beidio caniatau dinistr yr adeilad unigryw yma.

4 is far too young for a child to enter full-time education, as they may not fully comprehend what is required of them, creating additional stress for their parents and teachers (and themselves). It is recommended that ages 4 to 6 be reserved for kindergarten education to prepare children more effectively for school per se.

Despite the overwhelming support to maintain an effective Library Service across the whole of Barnet in the previous consultation, Barnet Council is continuing with its plans to limit the universal access to libraries for all people at all times. Our concerns include but are not limited to: • The 70% reduction in professionally staffed opening hours, which risks the safety of users and restricts the access of people under 16. • The reliance of volunteers, who might not be available in sufficient numbers to keep libraries open and whose of lack of expertise will rule out the provision of many services. • The massive reduction in space (more than 50% on average), which will reduce the resources and services the libraries can offer. • The rapidly increasing cost of killing off the library service, which far outstrips the proposed savings. Spending over £6m to save £2.2 million is a waste of taxpayer’s money. We call upon Conservative-run Barnet Council to halt these proposals and to work with residents and concerned organizations to develop a really viable and acceptable plan for the library service. These proposals are not only detrimental to the communities across Barnet but they are financially unsound with the cost of implementation far exceeding the proposed savings; we encourage the Council to see sense and scrap these proposals.

A group of Firstsite staff are leading a campaign to change the proposed staff restructure at the gallery, to enable the continuation of the positive changes that have begun to take place. We are calling for this rethink so we can protect jobs for people, particularly local people, instead of relying on volunteers to make up the majority of the customer facing staff. The cutbacks to the current staff structure will adversely affect the visitor experience and have a negative impact on the diverse and interesting programme of events, particularly within the learning department and the engagement of children and young people, currently one of the strongest areas Firstsite has with engaging with the community. The restructure addresses necessary financial savings that need to be made, but the proposed changes will result in short term savings, rather than creating a sustainable organisation that can generate income going forward. This will also perpetuate an unequal working and earning structure within the organisation. These changes will increase pressure on the remaining staff, many of whom already work outside of their job requirements, whilst offering a more than generous wage for the Director of the gallery.

I teach and am conscious that we are forced to teach to tests. This inevitably stops me from being able to target students' actual needs. The assumption that children should be able to apply specific skills at a certain age and design tests informed by that assumption, worries me. Children do not progress at the same rate. The idea that one can predict a target for GCSE when a child is 11 is another example of over reliance on statistics with little concern for the child's sense of self esteem. An evaluation is necessary but we should not have a system which presumes all children can attain at the same rate and should do so.

Our library is more than just a place to get books - it provides a real focus for the community with shared interest groups, computer access, skills sharing across all ages - the list is endless and growing all the time. Most importantly it is a place for people to meet and be with others.

Children are bombarded with sensory stimulation from video games, mobile phones TV and computers almost 24 hours a day. Add to that the pressure of everyday life ....tests , changes in the family make up, poverty, and overworked parents! Combine these factors with the already difficult naturally occurring stages a child goes through and we are heading for many more generations of depressed over pressured young people and adults. What coping strategies do our children have to counteract all this bombardment and retain their individual Humanness in a virtual world .... We need to teach them how to find a stillness amidst all of the business. What coping strategies are we providing to prevent more generations of depressed over pressured young people and adults ???????

We are a group of Hackney residents and parents of children at Colvestone Primary School. Without consulting the Education Department, and in the face of 70 objections from local people, Hackney Council’s Planning Committee has approved a development proposal that will significantly overshadow the nursery school next door. More than 30 children every year, and for generations to come, will be robbed of sunlight in the outdoor space of the nursery so that a developer can build “light-filled” private studio flats above the proposed ground floor and basement café. We are outraged by this decision. We expect the Mayor to put the education, health and well-being of the children first. • We have an independent expert review of the proposal which concludes that the building would cause “an increase of three to four times the existing levels of overshadowing” • A local resident, Judith Watt, has launched a legal challenge to the Council’s planning decision • We are urging the Council to act now to enforce historic property covenants that protect sunlight to the school's land. Please, Mayor, do the right thing.