Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg has confirmed he will vote in favour of tuition fee rises, as he tried to minimise damage from a three-way split in his party.

Mr Clegg said he had hopes MPs could "walk through the fire" together by collectively abstaining in the key ballot on Thursday, but it is clear that is not possible.

He accepted that all Lib Dems hold strong views on the issue, and praised the way they have conducted themselves in a "difficult" situation without showing personal animosity.

A significant number of the party's MPs - including potentially some Government members - are expected to go against the coalition agreement by voting no to fee hikes.

There could be repercussions if ministers decide to abstain rather than actively backing Government policy.

Addressing his parliamentary party, Mr Clegg said there had been a "lot of pressure" from the media and protesters.

But he insisted that "to govern was to choose" and, with money tight, the coalition had decided to pump funds into early years education.

The Deputy Prime Minister thanked Business Secretary Vince Cable for forging a "fair" policy that meant no-one had to pay upfront for their studies.

Mr Clegg also set out the mechanism for dealing with MPs and Government members who decided they could not support the fees measures - but aides refused to reveal those details.

Lib Dem grandees Lord Ashdown and Lady Williams have come to Mr Clegg's aid by appealing to the party's MPs not to vote against the reform package, which will treble the maximum annual charge to £9,000.

Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2010, All Rights Reserved.

Published: 07 December 2010

The UK has slipped further down world education rankings as teenagers fall behind their peers in reading, maths and science.

Countries including Poland and Norway have overtaken the UK in the last three years as education here has "stagnated".

Britain has fallen from 17th in 2006 to 25th for reading skills among 15-year-olds, according to a major study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

In maths, the UK has dropped from 24th to 28th place, it shows.

Around half a million 15-year-olds from more than 70 countries took part in the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study 2009, with the results for 65 published.

The study assessed how students could use their knowledge and skills in real life, rather than just repeating facts and figures.

The findings showed that the UK's score for reading was 494, about the same as the OECD average, 493. The top performer for reading was Shanghai-China with a score of 556.

For maths skills, the UK's score was 492, again similar to the OECD average of 496. Shanghai-China was again top-ranked with a score of 600.

In science the UK received a score of 514, placing it 16th. The OECD average was 501, and Shanghai-China was again top with 575.

The UK's results remained similar to those in the 2006 PISA study, when the UK was ranked 17th for reading skills, 24th for maths and 14th for science.

Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2010, All Rights Reserved.

Published: 07 December 2010

Talk by David Annal. Tracing your ancestors back to the period before civil registration and the Victorian census returns can present a genuine challenge to most family historians. But if your family came from London, the problems that you’re likely to face can be even harder to overcome.

The population of London doubled between 1801 and 1841 making it the most populated city in world. The administration of the area was enormously complicated - the City of London alone comprised over 100 parishes - and the records of the various authorities responsible for running London are now spread around a number of different record offices.

This talk will explain how to access and make the most of the capital’s diverse collection of records and will give some useful tips on tracking down those elusive London ancestors.

FREE - but you must book in advance

Published: 18 November 2010

Young aspiring property owners leaving university could find that they may not be able to make repayments on a mortgage due to higher tuition fees, according to one expert.

Published: 29 September 2010

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 Schools face major disruption this week, with thousands of stranded students and teachers unable to return to the UK as classes resume after the Easter break.

Published: 29 September 2010

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A new centre dedicated to advancing marine research in Scotland has been officially opened in St Andrews. The Scottish Oceans Institute (SOI)aims to tackle a wide range of issues,

Published: 29 April 2010

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