University’s move is part of trend that critics within academia say will lead to further staff cuts and the loss of ‘everything that makes the job worth doing’

An Australian university has swapped in-person classes with an AI chatbot, online quizzes and optional online tutorials in two subjects as institutions give the technology more teaching responsibilities.

Macquarie University’s “Virtual Peer” is part of each week’s learning in two mandatory Psychology units, programmed to ask students questions and guide them through scenario-based exercises.

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© Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

© Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

© Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Boy’s mother says she hopes case will help others, as judge says exclusion should be ‘a tool of last resort’

The mother of a 10-year-old autistic boy who had his permanent exclusion from a primary school quashed by the high court has said she hopes the ruling helps other children.

The boy, who cannot be named, was permanently excluded from his primary school, part of the Lift academy chain, after coming to school in July 2025 with a replica butterfly knife, which he handed to a friend to use against another child during an altercation in the playground.

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© Photograph: AlexLinch/Getty Images/iStockphoto

© Photograph: AlexLinch/Getty Images/iStockphoto

© Photograph: AlexLinch/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Annette and Kevin Maxwell say children with special needs have become moneymaking tool for private companies

Annette and Kevin Maxwell were nervous about sending their son Jonah to a residential home for children with special educational needs and disabilities (Send). Jonah has severe autism – he is non-verbal, has epilepsy and behavioural problems and needs round-the-clock care.

“It was a huge decision, but we almost had no choice because with Jonah at home, you can’t work and we had two other children to think about. He’s beautiful, but he is very, very complicated,” said Annette. “Outsourcing parenting is just foreign to us and it’s horrible, but we didn’t have another option.”

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© Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian

© Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian

© Photograph: Adrian Sherratt/The Guardian

Premium of nearly 10% paid by housebuyers comparable with cost of a cheaper private school over seven years

A house near a top state secondary school costs an extra £40,000 on average, according to research that reveals education premiums that rank alongside some private school fees.

The average property in a postcode district that includes a top 50 state secondary commands a price tag of £415,791, compared with £375,217 across the wider local authority areas in which those schools are located, a UK-wide analysis by the estate agent Yopa found.

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© Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images

© Photograph: Mike Kemp/In Pictures/Getty Images

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43 Australians still missing, with concerns growing ‘every day, every hour’ that goes by, Wong says

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, says there are still 43 Australian missing after the flooding in Nepal, saying the government holds grave concerns for their safety that only gets worse as the days go by.

This is such a distressing time and I know this is so difficult for the family and friends of those 43 Australians.

Every day, every hour, only increases our concern for those who have not been found and remain missing, and that is many Australians. … You can imagine how many families and friends are traumatised as a consequence.

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© Photograph: PR IMAGE

© Photograph: PR IMAGE

© Photograph: PR IMAGE

Colleges around the country are seeking approval for a new federal grant program, Workforce Pell, to aid students enrolled for short-term job training.

The solution to today’s underwater conundrums

Earlier today I set you the following puzzles. Here they are again with the solutions.

A fish is swimming in a tank that is two metres high, one metre across and one metre deep. The image below shows one path it swam.

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© Photograph: Disney/Sportsphoto/Allstar

© Photograph: Disney/Sportsphoto/Allstar

© Photograph: Disney/Sportsphoto/Allstar

Exclusive: Dr Will Tullett says better understanding of scents can improve wellbeing and perception of the world

Children need a better education in sniffing aromas, a leading historian of smells has said, noting it may improve their wellbeing and help them understand the world around them.

Dr Will Tullett, of the University of York, said pollution had been found to impair people’s olfactory abilities, while many objects and substances today – from margarines to car interiors and even our own homes – were stripped of their original smells and “reodourised” with synthetic scents.

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© Photograph: Inti St. Clair/Getty Images

© Photograph: Inti St. Clair/Getty Images

© Photograph: Inti St. Clair/Getty Images

Exclusive: Dr Will Tullett says better understanding of scents can improve wellbeing and perception of the world

Children need a better education in sniffing aromas, a leading historian of smells has said, noting it may improve their wellbeing and help them understand the world around them.

Dr Will Tullett, of the University of York, said pollution had been found to impair people’s olfactory abilities, while many objects and substances today – from margarines to car interiors and even our own homes – were stripped of their original smells and “reodourised” with synthetic scents.

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© Photograph: Inti St. Clair/Getty Images

© Photograph: Inti St. Clair/Getty Images

© Photograph: Inti St. Clair/Getty Images

Unions say ban will take time to enact, while president also wants under-15s social media ban as key legacy

French high schools are rushing to put in place a ban on mobile phones this week as Emmanuel Macron pushes for children to spend less time in front of screens.

Education unions warned that banning mobile phone use in lycées – where children are aged 15 to 18 – would be hard to implement quickly.

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© Photograph: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

Unions say ban will take time to enact, while president also wants under-15s social media ban as key legacy

French high schools are rushing to put in place a ban on mobile phones this week as Emmanuel Macron pushes for children to spend less time in front of screens.

Education unions warned that banning mobile phone use in lycées – where children are aged 15 to 18 – would be hard to implement quickly.

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© Photograph: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

© Photograph: Bertrand Guay/AFP/Getty Images

Can you think in 3D?

UPDATE: Read the solution here

Today’s puzzle concerns a fish swimming in a tank that is two metres high, one metre across and one metre deep.

The image below shows one path the fish swam.

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© Photograph: Pixar/AP

© Photograph: Pixar/AP

© Photograph: Pixar/AP

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The Australian government is working with Russian officials in a bid to secure the release of Australian Oscar Jenkins, Matt Thistlethwaite says.

Speaking to ABC news breakfast, the assistant minister for foreign affairs declined to answer whether a prisoner swap was on the table.

Obviously, we try and negotiate as best we can on behalf of all Australians who find themselves in difficulties such as this. We obviously have to abide by international laws and we always uphold them. But the Australian officials on the ground will work with their counterparts to ensure that, hopefully he’s returned to Australia safely.

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© Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

© Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

© Photograph: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

Nathan Cofnas told by Ghent University to work remotely as US ambassador claims credit for lifting of suspension

Prof Jason Arday’s accuser Nathan Cofnas has been barred from teaching on Ghent University campus for three months but has been allowed to continue his research position.

Cofnas, an American academic, was suspended from his postdoctoral research position at the Belgian institution earlier this month pending a “preliminary investigation” launched after Arday’s death.

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© Photograph: Adam Gerrard/Mirrorpix

© Photograph: Adam Gerrard/Mirrorpix

© Photograph: Adam Gerrard/Mirrorpix

Nathan Cofnas told by Ghent University to work remotely as US ambassador claims credit for lifting of suspension

Prof Jason Arday’s accuser Nathan Cofnas has been barred from teaching on Ghent University campus for three months but has been allowed to continue his research position.

Cofnas, an American academic, was suspended from his postdoctoral research position at the Belgian institution earlier this month pending a “preliminary investigation” launched after Arday’s death.

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© Photograph: Adam Gerrard/Mirrorpix

© Photograph: Adam Gerrard/Mirrorpix

© Photograph: Adam Gerrard/Mirrorpix

Some young people are teaching in countries like South Korea as education funding is gutted and recent grads face a tough job market in their own countries

A year ago, Arianna Marie, 25, was struggling to control the students in her Florida elementary school classroom.

She was living with her parents to save on rent and quickly feeling her passion for teaching dry up, even though it was her first job since graduation.

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© Photograph: Courtesy Arianna Marie and Zwiwe Dlamini

© Photograph: Courtesy Arianna Marie and Zwiwe Dlamini

© Photograph: Courtesy Arianna Marie and Zwiwe Dlamini

Inside India’s viral political movement.

Country star came to South Yorkshire town in 2007 for UK launch of the Imagination Library, her book donation scheme

Shane Jarman was up a ladder decorating a Christmas tree at the school where he was deputy headteacher when he got a call asking him to come to Rotherham hospital ASAP. It was December 2007 and Jarman’s wife, Claire, had given birth the previous day to their first child, a girl called Emma, so of course he rushed to the phone. All was well, he was told, but that “everything would become clear” when he got to the hospital.

Once there, his wife told him – somewhat unexpectedly – that they were going to meet Dolly Parton. “And literally within what felt like five minutes,” he recalled, “there were great camera flashes, lots of noise, lots of clicking and in walked this real big bundle of energy.”

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© Photograph: The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

© Photograph: The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

© Photograph: The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

More and more young people are engaging in sexual strangulation. But experts say there’s no safe pressure – and we have to start talking to teenagers about it

When touching someone’s throat, it can only take the pressure of a handshake to cause serious injury, unconsciousness or death. These injuries, which include brain damage and stroke, are often internal and invisible, showing up days or even months after the initial incident occurred. Experts say many who participate in sexual choking are not aware of the risks.

Choking or sexual strangulation is common among young people, says Prof Heather Douglas of the Melbourne Law School. In a 2024 survey of 4,702 Australians aged between 18 and 35, she and her research team found that 57% reported ever having experienced sexual strangulation; 51% reported ever having strangled a partner and 43.9% reported participating in both.

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© Photograph: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

© Photograph: Getty Images

Results day has arrived and Telegraph readers share their present ideas for loved ones heading off to study