Schools
Recorded delivery
‘You can hear pretty clearly the sound of one of the helicopters and you can see it in the darkness,’…
Migrant muddle
For a long while, the Conservatives have been puzzled about their lack of popularity among immigrants. In theory, the Conservative…
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…
The end of childhood
When the state excuses underage sex, what chance do our children have?
Michael Gove’s secret fan club
Meet the teachers who are (quietly) grateful to the former education secretary
School’s not out
For those who assumed that the removal of Michael Gove as Education Secretary marked the end of the Conservatives’ scholastic…
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
All together now
It was a bit of a surprise to hear Jarvis Cocker, the embodiment of cool and former frontman of Pulp,…
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…
Diary
Oh God, it’s happened again. Another evening where I’m surrounded by people I know personally or have interviewed, and I…
There’s no such thing as an Etonian
Finally, just in the last few years I’d say, we’ve all begun to accept the role of nature in the…
Lab test
I believe in animal research. But is there really a justification for using animals in biology lessons?
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
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…
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
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…
Your problems solved
Q. It’s only April and yet I am being emailed by parents who have already taken charge and are drumming…
A dying language
Why I won’t let my children be taught French
Flip
What kind of scientists do school inspectors not need to be? ‘Inspectors don’t need to be rocket scientists.’ For what…
Children with a severe case of the excuses
There is a beautiful symmetry to all things, I think, and probably related somehow to the concept of karma. Only…
