Pay rise for England’s Women footballers Lollipop

After their London 2012 success England’s top women players are looking for a pay rise.

Coach Hope Powell’s squad have qualified for Euro 2013 in Sweden and the 2012 Olympics attracted more than 70,000 fans to Wembley for GB women’s win over Brazil. 

Since 2009 the annual contract has stood rooted at £16,000. Now the FA are offering to move these central contracts up to £18,000.

Professional Footballers’ association PFA believe the offer does not reflect the popularity of the game. But after the hype of London 2012 is forgotten will Powell’s squad be bringing in a regular fan base of 70,000.

Win or lose Lollipop and I doubt they will be.

Union Chief, Gordon Taylor argued that the figure is embarrassing as top premier league players are earning more each day.

But top premier league players are not backed by just one body. Behind them are huge sponsorship deals, TV rights topping £5 billion, gate receipts, profit on player transfers, and of course wealthy club owners and chairmen.

Women’s football just does not have that much financial support.

Yes they attracted fans during the Olympics but the Men’s squad attract thousands all year round. For their World Cup qualifier against one of the lowest ranked international teams San Marino 84,654 made it to Wembley. The game was practically sold out.

Despite the rise in popularity and support for the women’s side the sport just is not at the same financial level as the men’s squad. The PFA need to stop comparing the two if they are to fight for better contracts.

They may have reached the semi -finals in London 2012 – one step further then Coach, Stuart Pearce’s side but this won’t guarantee a huge pay rise. Unfortunately for Powell’s team the Olympics don’t happen every year.

What will 2013 hold for A level student Lollipop?

 

With the intended overhaul of A levels Lollipop looks at the changes affecting students preparing for university and their careers.

The current class of 2013 will be the last students to sit several of their exams during January.

Ofqual, regulator of qualifications, exams and assessments in England, announced that from September 2013 students in England will no longer be able to sit A level exams in January, after the proposal received strong support following a three month consultation into A level reform. The change will also address recent concerns over how many times students can sit their exams by reducing resit opportunities.

Ofqual will need the backing of universities to make this work, although some teachers feel this could turn the qualification into a University entry examination when not all students who take A levels wish to move forward into higher education.

This change is the first phase of proposed wider A level reforms. Further changes to the system, including more involvement from higher education into the design of A levels, and changes to the A level structure, are also being considered and will be announced at a later date.

While Ofqual’s  research showed reforms were needed, 82 per cent of those taking part disagreed that A levels should be abolished.  Ofqual hope the changes will curb a re-sit culture where students are dependent on second chances and will prepare them for University..

Chief Regulator, Glenys Stacey, commented: “Earlier this year we set out our proposals for A level reform. We received an excellent response to our consultation. The results show that respondents are very supportive of the proposals we outlined to remove the January assessments. Our consultation also demonstrated broad support for our proposals regarding more involvement from higher education.

“The consultation followed on from Ofqual’s research into perceptions of A levels. This showed that the qualifications are considered to be largely fit for purpose but that there were some structural changes that could be made to improve them. There were also concerns expressed by teachers, employers and universities over what they term a resit culture. Teachers in particular said that A level students approach examinations with the expectation that they will always get a second chance. Making improvements in these key areas is what this first phase is about and it has been widely welcomed by higher education and by many schools and colleges. The next phase will consider further structural changes to strengthen the A level, how higher education will be involved in A levels, and content changes where stakeholders deem that they are necessary.”

Whether the shift will have a positive impact or not on our local teenagers is yet to be seen, but at least the stress of exams during the festive period will be lifted at the end of 2013 for some. More info  http://www.ofqual.gov.uk