Five-term year for school proposed

* A move from a three to five-term year for schools is being considered by a Local Government Association commission launched this week. The proposal would reduce the summer break to four weeks and have an impact on the transition from school to university.

The commission is chaired by Christopher Price (above), Open University governor, former principal of Leeds Metropolitan University and a former Labour MP. He will be joined by four others, including Tony Higgins, chief executive of Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, and Sheila Dainton, assistant secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers.