The Defence Universities Alliance is a bit to co-opt higher education into the wider drive to war — we should resist as earlier generations of scientists did, argue say ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT of SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

JOHN CALLOW introduces the work of Geoffrey Trease, who placed ordinary people at the centre of his historical fiction for children, creating adventurous stories to inspire the possibilities of social change

The Tories introduced the 50% strike ballot threshold to make industrial action harder. MATT WRACK argues that a Labour government has no justification for leaving it on the statute book

General Federation of Trade Unions assistant general secretary HENRY FOWLER reports on the final day from the GFTU’s residential Summer School at the Workers’ Retreat, Quorn Grange Hotel

HENRY FOWLER, assistant general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU), reports on Day 2 from the GFTU’s residential Summer School at the Workers’ Retreat, Quorn Grange Hotel

Assistant general secretary of the General Federation of Trade Unions HENRY FOWLER reports on day 1 from the GFTU’s residential Summer School at Quorn Grange Hotel

Thousands of jobs are at risk across higher education, yet government funding appears only when universities can be linked to military objectives, says JO GRADY, in the run-up to the Stop the War International Conference this Saturday

Years of austerity and political failure have left classrooms overcrowded and staff overstretched – now educators are organising across roles to demand change, says ED HARLOW

Austerity is breaking the education system. We must unite to save our schools and pay our teachers properly, says NEU national president ED HARLOW

PHILIP ENGLISH says military spending will not create the jobs young people need — instead, build an economy based around needs, not profit

SHELLEY GALPIN points out that Thomas Hardy’s Jude the Obscure criticised university elitism, and still rings true today

This weekend, the NEU holds a special conference to debate changing its approach to organising teaching assistants, which a 2017 TUC agreement forbids. General secretary DANIEL KEBEDE outlines the choices before delegates