The Advanced Placement (AP) can be the ideal programme for relocating school students, preparing them for entrance to universities worldwide. Monika Howick, high school principal at ACS Hillingdon International School, explains the AP's advantages.

The number of international students being offered a place at university on the back of their Advanced Placement (AP) qualifications is increasing. This qualification offers both a demanding and a rewarding curriculum, and is useful currency for students considering enrolment on further education programmes throughout the US and Canada.

Indeed, with its 50-year history, universities in more than 60 countries worldwide, including many universities in the UK, now recognise AP scores in their admission process.

Advanced Placement courses offer the most flexible opportunity to tailor an educational plan to the individual learner. Students may embark upon an AP curriculum by concentrating on a few courses in an area of passion and interest, allowing each student to excel and be rewarded with impressive academic success.

With the reported rise in enrolment figures for international schools across the globe and an ever increasing choice of education provision, relocating families are likely to welcome a new interactive tool from Lloyds TSB International offering valuable information about schools around the world.

Finding the right school for their child is top of the list of priorities for any relocating family and, amid the news that there are more international schools in existence than ever before, the challenge for families to find the school that meets their needs is becoming even greater.

David Cameron laid down a challenge for the UK’s top private schools in his recent speech at the Conservative Party Conference. “I want to see private schools start academies, and sponsor academies in the state system” he demanded. “Wellington College does it, Dulwich does it – others can too.”

But, while the Prime Minister was setting the challenge for private schools to develop their domestic outreach programme to help raise standards in underprivileged areas of the UK, it seems that these schools have been looking overseas as the international schools market goes from strength to strength.

In a shake-up of the current schools admissions code, the government has announced that it will lift restrictions on good, oversubscribed schools being able to expand – including the academically selective and popular Grammar Schools. It will also streamline in-year applications when a child moves to a new area. This is likely to be welcome news to relocating families who struggle to find good school places outside the normal admissions round.

New figures from Eurostat confirm that the UK still has some of the largest primary school class sizes in Europe.

According to the report, "Trends in European education during the last decade”, the number of pupils per teacher varies significantly at primary level amongst the EU27 member states. In 2009 they ranged from around 10 pupils on average per teacher in Malta, Lithuania, Denmark and Poland to nearly 20 pupils per teacher in France and the United Kingdom. In the EU27, there were on average 15 pupils per teacher in 2009.

The Home Office has announced that, due to their “tough new rules and enforcement action to stop abuse of the student visa system”, more than 450 education providers will no longer be able to sponsor new international students.

Statistics from the Home Office have revealed that over 450 UK education providers have lost the right to recruit new international students since tighter rules on student visas were introduced earlier this year. More than 400 of the pre-degree colleges lost this right as they couldn’t meet the standards of the new inspection regime. The Home Office estimates that the colleges could have brought in 11,000 students.

The UK’s foreign student population has more than doubled over the last ten years, according to a new report published this week, making the higher education sector one of the most important export earners for the UK economy.

Universities UK, the representative organisation for the UK’s universities, has published the report Patterns and trends in UK higher education, looking at the trends in the UK higher education sector over the last decade, from 2000/01 to 2009/10.

Among other things, the report tracks the rise of student numbers, the changing popularity of different subject areas, and a notable shift in the funding regime. It also demonstrates, the report claims, how higher education institutions continue to make a significant contribution to the economy in the UK.

The government has announced that Sir Michael Wilshaw is the Secretary of State for Education’s preferred choice for the post of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector. Sir Michael has challenged schools to raise their performance because of evidence that the UK is falling behind in international league tables.

Sir Michael, currently Executive Principal of Mossbourne Academy in London, is expected to take up the post in January 2012. This will follow a pre-appointment hearing in front of the Education Select Committee and approval by the Privy Council.

Three-quarters of firms feel that the British education system is failing to equip young people with the skills they need to enter the workforce, according to a study published this week.

The poll, which was carried out by Freshminds on behalf of the Young Enterprise charity, involved contributions from 28 of the country's most significant companies and professional bodies, including Kraft, HSBC, BT, Proctor & Gamble, General Electric, Santander and the Chartered Institutes of Accounting and Marketing.

Of the 28 firms, 21 felt that education in Britain leaves young people without the skills they need to contribute to the workforce.

The Government has announced that 24 Free Schools are aiming to open this September. Free Schools are funded by the Government, but are independent of local authority control. They are run by teachers and are able to set their own rules over the length of the school day, the curriculum, and how they spend their money. They are non-profit-making and, the Government states, must plough funds back into improving education for pupils.