without required levels of achievement 45 per cent of pupils leave school

educational correspondent(wp/es):

Almost 45 per cent of children are not meeting the required standards of success, a new report has found.
Up to 43 per cent of children leaving primary school have not met the expected levels of achievement in reading, writing and maths - a grade 4b or higher – at the end of Key Stage 2.
The analysis from CentreForum and Education DataLab also found 44 per cent of secondary school students are not obtaining five A* to C grade GCSEs.
The level of attainment has risen over the last decade, the report said, and recommends a new benchmark standard to which pupils can be held.
Changes to the GCSE grading system from 2017 will assess children on a scale ranging from a high of 1 to a low of 9, with a good pass to be considered a grade 5.
A grade 5 is said to be the equivalent of between a current B and C grade.

Within the new system, researchers estimate the percentage of children achieving a good pass will fall to 35 per cent in English and maths -a drop of 23 per cent.
Disadvantaged children are also closing the gap on other pupils in the classroom, the study found, shrinking as much as 30 per cent in Key Stage 2 since 2006.
But at secondary school, the achievement gap is equivalent to an average of one GCSE grade in each subject.
David Laws, executive chairman of CentreForum said: "Our analysis shows that attainment has risen and the disadvantaged gap - notably at the end of primary education - has fallen over the last decade. This is good news, but the report shows that there is no cause for complacency.

"Almost 45 per cent of children continue to fail to reach national benchmark standards, which are already lower than the standards reached in the best performing countries.
"We can also see from this report that while the disadvantaged gap has declined at each Key Stage, the gap still increases during a child's time in education.
"England needs to do much better if it is to become a world leader in giving real opportunity to young people from disadvantaged backgrounds."
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: "We welcome this report, which shows the stark choice we face in education today - either we prepare today's young people to compete with the best in the world or we don't.
"That's why we've taken the decision to set the new GCSE 'good pass' at the same level as other high-performing countries set their passmark.
"Every time we have raised the bar for schools and colleges they have risen to meet the challenge and we are confident that this is no exception." The spokeswoman added over time, more pupils are expected to reach the new higher standard and the attainment gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers will continue to narrow.

The most crime-ridden stations on the London Underground network is kings cross

staff reporter,London(wp/es):
King's Cross was today revealed as London's most crime-ridden station.
Figures from the British Transport Police showed 457 crimes were recorded at the station 12 months to December 1 last year -  a far higher figure than any of London's other rail hubs. 
Among those were 87 violent incidents, 65 public order offences and a further 25 sex crimes over the course of the year.
There were also more than 200 thefts of passenger property while other incidents at the station included fraud, drugs offences and criminal damage.
Elsewhere on the Tube network, Oxford Circus and Stratford stations recorded 344 crimes each in the same period, with Victoria close behind on 308.

Liverpool Street is fifth on the tube’s crime hotspot list with 235 incidents, followed by the huge Bank and Monument complex on 228.
Central London stations Green Park and Holborn recorded 193 crimes each, with Leicester Square seeing 190 and a further 184 at London Bridge.

But it is better news for people who use the Bakerloo line’s North Wembley station, which saw just two crimes over the 12 months – graffiti vandalism and a solitary theft.
Police stress the stats need to be viewed in context, with the worst stops on the list being major stations which see thousands of people passing through their ticket barriers every day.
And a BTP spokesman said crime across the network in 2014/15 was actually at its lowest level for over a decade, despite a rise in the number of passenger journeys.
They said: “Many of these stations are very busy hubs with huge numbers of people passing through, so numbers of offences are always likely to be higher than at smaller stations. Larger, busier
 stations also have a higher police presence, so more offences are likely to be recorded as a result of police-generated activity.
“Some locations will have specific reasons for the apparent high numbers, and some serve as the ‘end of line’ reporting location for offences which take place on board trains, or on neighbouring services, which contributes to the figures.”
They added: “Everyone has the right to travel on the railway without fear of being a victim of crime, and BTP is completely committed to reducing crime on the railway even further.”

in Labour’s Trident review Ken Livingstone downgraded

 
Pic: Ken Livingstone 
political reporter,London(wp/es):
Ken Livingstone was today downgraded in Labour’s nuclear defence review in a victory for shadow defence secretary Emily Thornberry and the trade union leaders.
Unveiling a change of approach, she made clear she would be calling the shots over whether to replace the Trident missile system.
“I go into this wanting to look a the evidence before making policy,” she said.
Ms Thornberry, the Islington South MP, is a backer of unilateral disarmament just like Mr Livingstone and Mr Corbyn.
But she eased tensions by stressing she would listen to all sides, adding: “I will not be afraid of asking some very hard questions.”
Former mayor Mr Livingstone upset the unions by suggesting a decision to scrap Labour’s backing for nuclear weapons defences could be rushed through in just eight or ten weeks.
He was widely seen to have been appointed to co-head a review by Jeremy Corbyn in a bid to steamroll a change of policy.
 But union leaders like Unite’s Len McCluskey and the GMB’s Paul Kenny this week made clear they would fight to defend the jobs of defence workers.

Julian Assange can be questioned by Swedish prosecutors at the Ecuadorian embassy in London

staff reporter,London(wp/es):
Julian Assange can be questioned by Swedish prosecutors at the Ecuadorian embassy in London, the South American nation’s foreign minister has said.
The WikiLeaks founder has sought refuse in the embassy in Knightsbridge since 2012 as he awaited extradition to Sweden to answer rape allegations.
Foreign minister Ricardo Patino told an Ecuadorian radio station that the country was accepting a request by Sweden to interrogate Assange “as long as the sovereignty of the Ecuadorian state and the laws in the Constitution are respected."
He suggested Swedish authorities could provide Ecuadorian counterparts with the questions and could be allowed a presence during the interrogation.
On Friday, Kristinn Hrafnsson, a spokesman for WikiLeaks, told the Guardian that Mr Assange welcomed the “opportunity to deliver his statement to the prosecutor”.

“Julian has been offering his statement to the prosecutor by various means for five years [in total] and for three-and-a-half years since he went into the embassy – whether via video link or by the prosecutor coming to London.
“Let’s hope [the interview] can be carried out as soon as possible. Julian is very eager to get his point of view into the investigation.”
Mr Assange said he fears he will be extradited to the US over the activities of WikiLeaks if he leaves the embassy.
In October, Scotland Yard announced it was removing the 24-hour police presence at the embassy.

man found dead after 'brutal attack by six men in east London high street'

crime reporter,London(wp/es):
 
 Pic:edgaras kondrotas who murderd in east London

A young man who left his impoverished homeland to build a better life in London was found dead in his bed the day after being attacked on a busy high street.
Edgaras Kondrotas, 28, left Lithuania for the capital eight years ago and had recently told his family he was planning to marry his long-term girlfriend and start a family.
He was found dead at his home in Forest Gate on Tuesday afternoon.
Detectives believe he died from injuries sustained when he was beaten by a group of up to six men in Leyton High Road the previous evening.
Eli Norvilas, 24, a cousin who grew up with Mr Kondrotas in Klaipeda on the Baltic coast before moving to the USA, said his close-knit family were desperate for answers.

He told the Standard: “We just want to know what happened. Without that all we can do is fantasise and be driven crazy.”
He said: “Ergaras came to London because he wanted to make a better life for himself.

“He told family back home he wanted to start a family. From what I heard he wanted to marry his girlfriend and have kids. His life was stopped way too early.”
He said he had last seen Mr Kondrotas six years ago on his 18th birthday, when the family all flew back to eastern Europe.
He said: “It’s just sad, especially the past couple of years I didn’t stay in touch with him as much as I’d like to.
“We were living our own lives, through Facebook he looked happy in his photographs. I wish I’d not taken it for granted.”
Police believe Mr Kondrotas was assaulted at 11.30pm on Monday and travelled home by public transport back to a house in Forest Gate, around a mile away.
A post mortem gave the cause of death as blunt force trauma to the abdomen.


Two men have been arrested on suspicion of murder and were today being questioned by police.
Detective Inspector John Marriott, who is leading the investigation into Edgaras' death, said: "I am appealing for any witnesses who may have seen a group of men who were involved in a disturbance in Leyton High Road, at about11.30pm on Monday, January 11.
"I believe that Edgaras was assaulted during this altercation and then travelled back to an address in Sebert Road, where he was found dead.
"If you saw the incident in Leyton High Road or have information about what sparked the altercation, or know who may have been part of that group of six men then please call the incident room."

**** any information is asked to contact the Incident Room on 020 83453985, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.****

starting families putting Londoners in 20s off

staff reporter,London(wp/es):
Hundreds of thousands of Londoners in their twenties are being put off starting a family because of soaring house prices, an exclusive survey reveals today.
The poll found 42 per cent of this 1.4 million-strong age group say that if the cost of homes stays at current levels or rises they will be less likely to raise children here. It also revealed four in five Londoners aged 20-29 have considered quitting the capital because of sky-high housing costs.
The findings sparked a warning by business leaders that “generation rent” may become “generation went” if property prices and rents rise further.
Young women especially seem more likely than men to delay having children because of spiralling house prices and budget-busting rents. A total of 46 per cent of women in their twenties said they were less likely to raise a family in London due to housing costs.

The survey by Opinium Research was commissioned by the business group London First for the Fifty Thousand Homes campaign. It is calling on the next Mayor of London, almost certainly Zac Goldsmith or Sadiq Khan, to ensure 50,000 new homes are being built each year in the capital by 2020.
Will Higham, director of the campaign — backed by a coalition of city businesses — said: “Young Londoners at the start of their careers are telling the next mayor very clearly what needs fixing.
“London’s housing supply is simply not keeping up with our growing population as a city and they are feeling the pinch — paying the cost through high rents, not getting on the property ladder and even making trade-offs about when to start a family.”

Baroness Jo Valentine, chief executive of London First, said: “London business depends on talented people making a career here. If some can’t we all lose out. This is unfair on the young but is going to end up hurting us all if generation rent becomes generation went.”
She stressed that the housing crisis was now a “boardroom issue” as a growing number of firms face difficulties getting the employees they need.
The poll also found 36 per cent of Londoners in their twenties say the jump in house prices made them more likely to decide to raise a family in the city. More than half of this group either already own their property outright or had a mortgage on it, the poll indicated — highlighting the city’s wealth divide.
A total of 81 per cent of Londoners in their twenties have considered quitting the capital because of housing costs, according to the poll. It found 30 per cent of this age group had seriously considered moving away and plan to do so to enjoy lower housing costs.
Opinium Research interviewed 520 Londoners in their twenties between January 7 and 14

Actor Alan Rickman has died in London after losing a cancer battle at the age of 69.

entertainment reporter,London(wp/es):

Actor Alan Rickman has died in London after losing a cancer battle at the age of 69.
The British actor, known for his role as Professor Snape in the Harry Potter films, died surrounded by friends and relatives.
A statement from his family read: "The actor and director Alan Rickman has died from cancer at the age of 69. He was surrounded by family and friends."
Rickman played iconic roles in films including Die Hard, Robin Hood and Love Actually.

The star was a long-standing member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and has won a number of awards including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, an Emmy and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Rickman wed long-term partner of 50 years Rima Horton in a secret ceremony in New York in 2012, confirming the news last year.
"We are married. Just recently. It was great, because no one was there. After the wedding in New York we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and ate lunch," he said.
'I think every relationship should be allowed to have its own rules. She's tolerant. She's incredibly tolerant. Unbelievably tolerant. Possibly a candidate for sainthood," he told Hello Magazine.
Rickman's death comes just months ahead of the release of a new film called Eye In The Sky in which he stars alongside Helen Mirren and Aaron Paul.

The thriller is set to open in UK cinemas on April 8, according to IMDb.
He has also just completed Alice Through The Looking Glass, which is slated for release later this year.
Rickman's critically acclaimed roles include Col Brandon in Sense and Sensibility and the spectre of a widow's lost love in Anthony Minghella's Truly, Madly Deeply.

He may be best known to older fans as terrorist Hans Gruber in Die Hard from 1988, or the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves from 1991.
But he gained a younger fanbase for his turn as Snape in the hugely successful Harry Potter franchise.
Rickman is also a filmmaker and his most recent project was last year's A Little Chaos, which he directed and starred in opposite Kate Winslet.
Speaking on the red carpet at the premiere last year, he said:
"I wasn't free until now because I started doing Harry Potter, and when I started there were only three books written so I didn't know I was going to be unable (to direct).
"Because if you're going to direct a film it's over a year of your life and I didn't have that.
''So once I had finished with that series of films I was free, and then along came this wonderful scrip."
A Little Chaos was Rickman's second turn behind the camera after directing Emma Thompson in drama The Winter Guest 18 years previously.

Rickman was born in Acton, west London in 1946 and later won a scholarship to Latymer Upper School where he first became involved in drama.
After graduating from the Royal College of Art, he opened a graphic design studio alongside some friends but later decided he wanted to pursue acting professionally.
He was awarded a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art before going on to work with numerous theatre groups.