Education
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
I think my amazing dad has found the secret of a happy life
This week I wanted to tell you about my amazing dad. He hasn’t died or anything. I just thought I’d…
Facts aren’t created equal
I first locked horns with Michael Rosen, the former children’s laureate, on Sky News about four years ago. We were…
Lab test
I believe in animal research. But is there really a justification for using animals in biology lessons?
Born to be famous
The old paths to the top for working-class children – sport, music, acting, writing – are now closed by nepotism
If the Tories win the election, the Gove gamble will have paid off
‘There’s no shame in a cabinet to win the next election,’ declared an exasperated senior No. 10 figure on Tuesday…
Cameron was right to move Gove
I tried to reach Michael Gove on Tuesday shortly after the news broke that he’d been moved to the Whips’…
The betrayal of Wales
Devolution has left my country with catastrophic misgovernment
Let’s face it – Ray Honeyford got it right on Islam and education
The Bradford head teacher was dismissed for emphasising nationality over religion. He should have been applauded
Barometer
The not-so-great charter David Cameron wants every child to be taught about Magna Carta. Some bits he might want to…
This ‘Islamist conspiracy’ is WMD all over again
I can remember where I was when Colin Powell presented to the United Nations his evidence for the existence of…
Tory wars, contd
Modern Conservatives seem to be allergic to success. Every time things are going right, the party spasms. Sir John Major’s…
Letters
We need religion Sir: Roger Scruton (‘Sacred hunger’, 31 May) describes a reason, dare I say a ‘purpose’, for religion in…
A lesson in humility
I went to a meeting at Penguin earlier this week to discuss ‘publicity opportunities’ for my forthcoming book. Chance would…
Letters
Why girls do better Sir: Isabel Hardman notes that girls now outperform boys at every level in education (‘The descent…
The wisdom of clouds
Children can teach each other, believes Sugata Mitra — if you give them the internet, a big screen and a helpful granny on Skype
How the Delingpoles triumphed over the Vikings
Have you managed to book tickets to the Viking exhibition at the British Museum yet? If you haven’t, my advice…
The need to know
It’s scarcely possible to open a newspaper or magazine these days without reading an article about how the latest technological…
A dying language
Why I won’t let my children be taught French
Good teachers
Last week in The Spectator, Daisy Christodoulou argued that, contrary to current educational theory, children learned best via direct instruction…
Gove’s friends are out to get him
From the moment he took his job, Michael Gove knew that he would make energetic and determined enemies. The teachers’…
