So, all secondary schools are going to be partnered with a university. This is according to a report on the BBC News website.

John Denham, the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, is going to announce this in order to promote Higher Education to pupils from low-income families.

There don’t appear to be a huge number of details right now. In fact, despite searching around most websites this morning, I have only seen the news on the BBC website and it’s hardly forthcoming.

Even John Denham’s departmental website is lacking in a press release for this, as far as I can tell (time of writing, 0830 on October 10).

So what’s going on? When is all this going to be announced for real?

I’m definitely interested and so should you be, even if you are currently installed at uni. It begs so many questions, such as:

• How will the schools be linked up?
• What difference will it make?
• Will there be more or less onus on the university you’re at?
• Will there be more or less funding for your university?
• Will this change the face of uni living, or go relatively unnoticed?
• How many schools can each university get linked up with?
• Who will be responsible for the linking?
• How will the linking work and take place?
• Can links change once they have been made?
• Will some unis get no linkage, while more popular unis get bombarded by schools?
• Would the more popular unis be able to boast their number of links as a positive thing?

This news has the potential to change Higher Education rather a lot, which is why I’d love to hear more news and why I’m asking so many questions.

I will provide more links when I find them and when they’re available. Do you have any further news on it? I’d love to hear from you in the comments if you do!

Four sites that get three links each today. How lucky are they? Three. It’s the magic number.

Telegraph – Student Health Special (from 2005, so some out of date info, but lots still relevant to today)

PART 1 – Spag bol and beans for beginners [Why the nutritional odds are stacked against undergraduates.]

PART 2 – College life, the sober truth [Dealing with alcohol and drug abuse]

PART 3 – Campus life? It’s infectious [Avoiding scary Fresher Flu and more.]

Null Hypothesis – The Journal of Unlikely Science [I like the idea of this website. Will definitely be keeping an eye out for strange stories.]

Trying Harms Your Health [Here’s one for the procrastinators…]

Phunny Phobias [Knees, Slopes, Infinity, Kissing. My goodness, us humans are scared of all sorts!]

Hot Scientist of the Week [Ding Dong!]

How Stuff Works [This website has all sorts of weird and wonderful topics. Here’s a random selection of three.]

How Tea Works [Fancy a cuppa?]

How to Clean Your Bathroom [For all you in en-suite rooms. Get scrubbing!]

How Geniuses Work [Now you’ve got no excuse…]

The Guardian

Horn of plenty [Ig Nobel Prize organiser writes]

Salute the simple sword of truth [More Ig Nobel Prize gubbins]

Regulate the regulators [Quality Control in Higher Education]

Lifehack.org – Lessons in making a vote for me video [A bit of help for, say, those people who are standing for student elections.  Want a video to help you win?  Want a video to help you win in style?  Get some tips from here.]

Online Education Database – Hacking Knowledge: 77 Ways to Learn Faster, Deeper, and Better [All sorts of advice to take you further in your life of study.]

Pathway to Happiness – How the Mind Affects Your Happiness [Lengthy article that explains some of the reasons behind your feelings]

Financial Times (FT.com) – The joy of fresh stationery, gossip and lattes with lids [Is it true that the only reliable pleasures in life are the small ones?]

PickTheBrain – 7 Ways to Overcome the Fear of Failure [Don’t let anything hold you back!]

Time – You Are Not My Friend [Now you have Facebook, you can be friends with that bloke you walked past once whose t-shirt you quite liked…]

BBC Click – The facts behind big screen hacks [So many movies show all sorts people performing elaborate hacks on computer systems.  It could be your webcam, or it could be the Pentagon.  But is this strictly realistic?  Not really.  To an extent maybe, but nowhere near the way in which they are currently being portrayed.]

BBC News Magazine – The Value of Free [Free downloads, free DVD covermounts, brand new Prince album for free, free this, free that… Yes, we’re used to grabbing all sorts of things for nothing.  If we like something, we’ll keep it and cherish it, no matter how much it cost.  Can you really put a value on that?]

And after such a long post today, I’m spoiling you with a pretty large helping of EduLinks. Call it some extended weekend reading perhaps!

The First Post – Che Guevara: The Smoking Gun [40 years on, knowing the story behind the iconic picture that adorns many student posters and t-shirts.]

The Register – Facebook ‘friend request’ lands UK man in jail [Just you be careful who you ask to be friends with.]

The Independent – OK computer: Why the record industry is terrified of Radiohead’s new album [I haven’t decided how much I’ll be paying for the album yet…]

Inc.com – The Real World [University innovation program – “Forget the elaborate business plans. Kids with passion are our next great entrepreneurs.”]

International Herald Tribune – Software developers flood Facebook with applications

Guardian – Parents work harder to meet university costs [selfish bloody students…]

Slate – An eater’s guide to PRETZELS [Yum.]

New Scientist Technology Blog – What are Facebook friends worth? [About £125.]

43 Folders – Concentration Strategies for students

Ririan Project – 22 Research-Proven Tips for Better Memory

Eleven21.com – 10 Ways to Make Your Study Sessions More Productive

Web Worker Daily – 4 Task List Antipatterns [Wonderful tips on sorting out your task list once and for all.]

Lifehack.org – 15 Tips for Surviving a Task Explosion [Suddenly have loads on your plate. Did it creep up behind you and bite you on the bum? This’ll help put things back into place.]

Lifehack.org – Advice for students: N’allez pas trop vite […Don’t go too fast.]