At a glance headlines: April 30, 2015

“Academic buoyancy” protects pupils from seeing examinations as “threatening” and so boosts performance, a research study has found. Professor Dave Putwain from Edge Hill University describes academic buoyancy as “students’ capacity to successfully overcome setback and challenge that is typical of the ordinary course of everyday academic life”. His study involved 705 year 11 students taking English, maths and science GCSE exams, and found that those who were categorised as “academically buoyant” were less anxious, better able to self-regulate and thus performed better. Prof Putwain’s study has been published in the British Journal of Educational Psychology.

Many pupils arriving at secondary school are below recommended levels of fitness for their age, a study has found. Conducted by Fit For Sport, the research involved 10,000 primary pupils and found that 67 per cent were unable to reach targets in jumping, running and throwing. Among 10 and 11-year-olds, only 33 per cent reached “adequate levels of fitness”. The worst results were in running challenges, indicating that pupils are not spending enough time doing “vigorous intensity” activity. Fit For Sport has created a free online portal where parents can complete an Activity Challenge with their children. Visit: www.activitychallenge.co.uk