Education
The catastrophic dumbing down of German education
German teachers are a privileged species. Most of us enjoy the status of a Beamter, a tenured civil servant. We…
The pedant’s progress through history
The pompous know-it-all despised by classical philosophers became a stock comic character of 16th-century theatre – and finally a bore to be pitied
In praise of learning German
The University of Nottingham, one of the most prestigious Russell Group universities, is preparing to close its languages department, as…
How to make universities appeal to the working class
‘Long Eaton is dying a death. I was born and bred here, so I’ve seen it go downhill quite quickly.…
The folly of psychology
A young Chinese girl, at school in an English-speaking country, approached me after I gave a talk at a conference…
The failure of Britain’s elite universities
Politicians, authors, priests and the occasional Spectator editor have all served as the Oxford Union’s president over its 200-year history.…
English schools are failing disadvantaged children
Education should be the great equaliser – the ladder with which all children, regardless of circumstances of birth, can improve…
We’re losing the ability to read
A recent American study, called ‘They Don’t Read Very Well’, analyses the reading comprehension abilities of English literature students at…
Lily Parr and the creepiness of AI resurrection
I’m not sure it’s possible to make a horror movie more sinister than the chirpy four-minute film on YouTube purporting…
Aristotle and the leisurely pursuit of education
Nearly six million people are on out-of-work benefits. It is claimed that, for most of those, going back to work…
What I learned from my meeting with the Education Secretary
Dear Secretary of State, thank you for meeting me and one of my deputies on Monday. You will have noticed…
What Bridget Phillipson has in common with Plato
One does not like to disagree with one’s editor, but while the image of Rome salting the earth of its…
The ‘shocking tactics’ of Kemi Badenoch
Whitehall is being swept by moral outrage. Ministers, in full This Is Spinal Tap mode, have turned their pious horror up…
Why homeschooling rates have doubled
Schools are a relatively new phenomena in human history. In Britain, they expanded in the 19th century and early 20th…
Must try harder, Education Secretary
The headmaster of one of the best comprehensives in the country was once asked the following question by Tony Blair:…
Decline and fall: how university education became infantilised
Last month, after 21 years study-ing and teaching Classics at the University of Cambridge, I resigned. I loved my job.…
Why French students want English uniforms
Béziers, France The École Mairan in Béziers in southern France is a happy neighbourhood elementary school housed in a superb…
The ancients knew the value of practical education
The welfare state was designed to serve everyone’s needs. But those needs were defined by the state. So schools teach…
Letters: A cautionary lesson for England’s schools
Lessons to learn Sir: Your leading article ‘Requires improvement’ (7 September) rightly raised concerns that a curriculum review in England…
The real crisis in our school system
For years, each school in England has been put in one of four categories: ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, ‘requires improvement’ and ‘inadequate’.…
The culture wars are far from over
It’s only been a month since the new Culture Secretary, Lisa Nandy, declared that the ‘era of culture wars is…
Labour’s outrageous attack on academic free speech
In an extraordinary outburst, a government source has described the new Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Act, introduced by the…
Should Labour be messing with the school curriculum?
Labour’s new education secretary wishes, as usual, to change everything. She might consider the advice of the Roman educationist Quintilian…
The cult of Bedales
Another of my ageing Bedales school cohort has died and so there’s an ad hoc reunion in his honour at…
The mystery of teaching composition
Summer study courses for young composers have been popular for a few generations. After the second world war, up-and-coming experimental…
