Best Schools - Sir James Dyson donates £19m to his old boarding school

Billionaire businessman Sir James Dyson has donated £18.75m to his former school, whose "generosity" helped pay for his education after his father died.

The cash will fund the building of a centre for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) education at Gresham's school in Holt, Norfolk.

The inventor and engineer said it will "inspire and educate more brilliant young minds".

The co-education, private day and boarding school was founded in 1555 and Sir James attended for ten years.

Sir James' father, who was head of the Classics department, died soon after he started the school.

The school supported him financially afterwards, offering him and his brother scholarships to stay on and board.

"The generosity of the school, meant I could continue there after his death," he said.

The STEAM centre will be housed in the Dyson Building, which will be designed by Dyson's architects Wilkinson Eyre. It will be completed by September 2021, the school said.

Scottish private schools appeal for two-year delay to SNP's £7 million tax hike

Scotland's private schools have appealed for a two-year delay to a £7 million tax increase imposed by the SNP amid warnings the move will backfire on government efforts to tackle obesity.

The Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIC) argued that the withdrawal of charitable relief on business rates should be postponed from April next year to 2022.

In a submission to a Holyrood inquiry, the organisation warned that the current timescale would give schools no time to appeal against excessive rates valuations.