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Five new medical schools are to be created in England as part of the government's expansion of training places.

The schools will open in Sunderland, Lancashire, Lincoln, Canterbury and Chelmsford over the next three years as under-doctored areas to get new medical schools

Places at existing schools are also being increased as part of the government's commitment to increase student places by 25%.

It will mean by 2020 there will be 1,500 more students each year.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the new schools were being targeted at parts of the country where it "can be hard to recruit and attract new doctors".

Overall 90% of the new places will be outside London.

"It will help us deal with the challenges of having around one million more over 75s in ten years' time," added Mr Hunt.

Some 630 of the 1,500 new places will start this September, with the rest to follow in 2019 and 2020.

Of the new schools, only the Anglia Ruskin University site in Chelmsford will start taking students this year.

Read more: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-43463358

Parents who try to be their children’s best friends are 'doing more harm than good'

Parents who try to be their children’s best friends are doing more harm than good, a leading headmaster has said. 

Mothers and Fathers are increasingly succumbing to “buddy syndrome”, according to Dr Martin Stephen, the principal of The National Mathematics and Science College.

The imposition of clear parent-child boundaries is crucial for a child’s development, he argues.

Dr Stephen, who was previously the High Master of St Paul's School explained that parents must be able to “dictate unreasonable times for the child to be home by, to limit screen time and to sniff for the cigarette in the bedroom, as well as to hug the child when the longed-for invitation to the party doesn’t come, someone else is given the best role in the school play or the bike falls over with you on it”.

His sentiments echoed those of Barnaby Lenon, the ex-headmaster of Harrow and current chair of the Independent Schools Council.

In his book, Much Promise, he wrote: “Boys need disciplining by schools and parents. They need it… and, what is more, they can take it.” Mr Lenon argued that boys are grossly underperforming, falling behind and getting into trouble because too many fathers want to be their son’s best friends and fail to enforce the discipline that boys need to thrive.

“Authority has been transferred from parents to children in the last 50 years and boys are paying the price,” Mr Lenon wrote.

Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/03/16/parents-try-childrens-best-friends-harm-good-leading-headmaster/