Sainsbury’s hits back at Aldi as price war takes toll on tills

Business correspondent(wp/es):
Sainsbury’s today hit back at suggestions Aldi and Lidl could eat its lunch, saying its prices have never been closer to the discounters’.
Despite reporting another fall in quarterly sales, chief executive Mike Coupe downplayed the threat posed by the German retailers, whose growth has triggered a fierce industry price war.
Like its big four rivals — Tesco, Morrisons and Asda — Sainsbury’s has fought back by slashing prices. It has also moved away from multi-buy promotions to regular low prices.
Referring to Aldi’s claims earlier this week that it remains significantly cheaper than mainstream competitors, Coupe said: “You can use whatever surveys you want to dress up whatever story you want. Our price position relative to discounters has never been sharper.”
Coupe also dismissed the assertion that Aldi and Lidl are set to push further into Sainsbury’s home turf of London and the South-East.

“The idea they are marching into the South-East is somewhat misguided. All the evidence we have… suggests that broadly speaking they are opening stores where they already exist, for Aldi in the North-West and the Midlands and Lidl in the South.”
Sainsbury’s reported a 1.1% fall in same-store sales in its second quarter.
That narrowly beat expectations, but compares unfavourably with Morrisons, which reported second-quarter sales growth of 2% earlier this month. Meanwhile, Tesco’s sales declines are slowing, according to the latest industry data.

Secondary school bans all homework

staff reporter(wp/es):
A secondary school has taken the controversial step of banning homework to give their teachers more time to plan lessons.
Phillip Morant School and College in Colchester, Essex, has abolished all homework set by teachers in favour of pupils selecting their own extra learning through the school’s website.
A letter sent to parents from the Teaching and Learning Team stated the new system would give pupils a “greater responsibility for their own learning”.
The letter reads: “We are changing our approach to homework and moving away from the traditional style towards a more independent model.”

“Students will be expected to select appropriate tasks based on guidance from their teachers, their own targets and their own interests.”
Principal Catherine Hutley told the Daily Gazette that she expected the new system would be controversial but she was convinced that students would benefit from it.
She said: “The job of a teacher is impossible. There are not enough hours in the day for a teacher to teach, set homework, mark homework, and plan their lessons.

“We have the most dedicated and committed staff you could possibly ask for.
“They are working every hour God sends but planning lessons can fall by the wayside.
“We want it to be the number one priority so teachers can plan for students’ individual needs and keep on top of their progress on a daily basis.”
Ms Hutley added that homework will now be completed in lessons and that tasks on the school website for students were still encouraging independent learning.
Students taking part in out of class learning on the school website will be offered rewards for completing tasks.
Phillip Morant has 1,650 students and was given a “good” rating in its last Ofsted report.
 The school has also banned students from using mobile phones on the premises and removed academic banding.