2+ hour, 52+ min ago   (463+ words) Plan 2 student loans were designed in a "mad rush" at the height of austerity, according to one of the architects of the system. Nick Hillman was a special adviser to the former universities minister Lord Willetts when tuition fees tripled…...

21+ hour, 26+ min ago   (574+ words) Excessive screen time is causing children's vocabulary to shrink, a leading lexicographer has said. Susie Dent, who has been Countdown's resident word expert for more than two decades, said "so many children are now falling behind" due to distractions from…...

1+ day, 9+ hour ago   (590+ words) As a boomer whose degree was all free, I would happily give up the triple lock so my children could have a fairer interest rate on their student loans." This comment, left by a Times reader last week, made me…...

1+ day, 9+ hour ago   (660+ words) The advice is often to start investing early, when you have decades of growth and compound interest ahead of you. But former NHS worker Tessa Martin, 62, has shown that you can still turn a healthy profit in later life. Martin,…...

1+ day, 19+ hour ago   (431+ words) Lucy Powell, the deputy Labour leader, has said interest rates on student loans are "unfair" and "egregious" amid growing calls for a redesign of the system. Powell singled out Plan 2 loans, taken out by up to six million graduates who…...

2+ day, 19+ hour ago   (629+ words) Tutors are charging up to "250 an hour to support children with anxiety through entrance exams for state and private schools. Agencies said that more families were seeking help with their child's emotional regulation and for those with special educational needs…...

4+ day, 15+ hour ago   (173+ words) Do you know your Sipps from your Isas? Would you feel comfortable explaining what an ETF is? Or the long-term effects of compound growth? Though students leave school knowing (at least for the time being) how to solve a quadratic…...

4+ day, 22+ hour ago   (799+ words) Millions would be better off if they had been given a proper financial education, according to a wide-ranging survey for The Times. This newspaper today launches its Smarter with Money campaign, calling for dedicated lessons in schools and help to…...

5+ day, 16+ hour ago   (395+ words) In the words of the Nobel prizewinning economist Amartya Sen, "much about poverty is obvious enough, yet measuring it accurately is anything but. This is a challenge for a government that, after several U-turns, has staked its credibility on cutting…...

5+ day, 17+ hour ago   (443+ words) Graduates saddled with spiralling student loan debt should have the "eye-watering" interest rate lowered to help them manage their monthly repayments, a former education secretary has said. Alan Johnson, who was also universities minister, has called for the government to…...