Daily roundup 19 December: Free school meals, private school, and youth zone delay

A charity has warned that government plans to update eligibility criteria for free school meals will mean that one million children living in poverty will miss out. The Independent reports that during the roll out phase, all families in receipt of the new Universal Credit benefit have been automatically entitled to free school meals. However, a proposed means-testing system would result in just 700,000 of the 1.7 million school children whose parents receive Universal Credit being eligible for free school meals.


Less wealthy families are not applying for private school bursaries out of fear that their children will not fit in, the incoming president of the Girls School Association has said. The Telegraph reports that Gwen Byrom said that disadvantaged families are concerned that their children would feel "uncomfortable" at a private school, which has prevented them from applying for bursaries.


Plans to create a multi-million pound Youth Zone in Preston have been delayed. The Lancashire Evening Post reports that work was scheduled to start on the facility in September, but no work has begun and the date has been pushed back by several months. A tendering process to choose the operator for the site is due to start in the New Year, and only once this process is complete will the final design of the venue be confirmed, casting doubt on the scheduled opening date of January 2019.


University admissions would be fairer if students applied after they knew their A-Level results, a social mobility charity has said. The BBC reports that The Sutton Trust has said that relying on predicted grades is working against talented disadvantaged applicants. They have warned that poorer students in particular are more likely to have their grades under-predicted.