Education
Don’t act white, act migrant
Black British boys are being held back by fear of betraying their background. Immigrant children know how to deal with that
Barometer
Rogue traders Former UBS trader Tom Hayes was jailed for 14 years for rigging the Libor market. How long could…
Even the Chinese can’t teach Kevin the Teenager
Watching a group of unruly children make mincemeat out of a well-meaning teacher has become a television staple and Are…
Tax return
Make no mistake: the Proms, whose 2015 season was launched last night, would not, could not, exist without the BBC,…
Barometer
Bank job Should we buy shares in companies which print banknotes in expectation of one getting to print millions of…
Must all Children’s Laureates be tedious lefties?
Unless you’re an avid reader of the Guardian, you’re probably blissfully unaware that Britain has a new Children’s Laureate. His…
The best way to end the ‘poshness test’
There’s a warning buried in the detail of the new report by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission on…
Call me insane, but I’m voting Labour
Quite often when I deliver myself of an opinion to a friend or colleague, the reply will come back: ‘Are…
Swing, swing together
The public schools ought to have gone out of business long ago. The Education Act of 1944, which promised ‘state-aided…
A lesson in bias
What aid experts and academics don’t want to hear about private schools in developing countries
Will the perfect school always be a pipe dream?
Civitas has just published an interesting book called The Ins and Outs of Selective Secondary Schools. Edited by Anastasia de…
State of the arts
The season of cringe-making acceptance speeches at arts awards ceremonies is nearly over, thank heavens. But it hasn’t passed without…
Michael Gove’s secret fan club
Meet the teachers who are (quietly) grateful to the former education secretary
The myth of the ‘London effect’
I suppose we should be thankful that Nicola Sturgeon has acknowledged there’s a problem with Scotland’s public education system, even…
Barometer
Female bishops The Reverend Libby Lane was ordained as Bishop of Stockport, the Church of England’s first female bishop. —…
The silent victory
Schools are the one area where this government has made a real, positive difference – but it’s scared stiff of saying so
The proof is in the league tables, Mr Hunt
For a brief moment earlier this week, I thought education might become an issue in the general election campaign. The…
Uni’s out
Why being a graduate is about to lose its prestige
How the Romans taught Latin
Barely a week passes without someone complaining about the teaching of English or foreign languages, usually because it involves too…
Nicky Morgan vs Socrates
After the Philae space-lab’s triumph, one can see why Education Secretary Nicky Morgan should have hymned the ‘Stem’ subjects (science, technology, engineering…
Want an argument against positive discrimination? Just look at me
I read with some interest the proposal for Oxford and Cambridge to set up state-school-only colleges in the Guardian this…
Starry cast
The great municipal museums are products of the 19th-century imagination, evidence of lofty ambitions and cringe-making limitations. They are exact…
Letters
Italy’s to-do list Sir: You would expect a long letter of rebuttal by a piqued senior diplomat in response to…
Learning compromise the hard way
I’m often asked by other free school proposers what lessons I’ve learnt over the past five years. Any pearls of…
Learning to fly
Nothing beats taking to the air when it’s you piloting the plane
