Latest education news
4th of March 2010
Leading Article: Illusion of choice
This week has been a roller-coaster time of year for parents because it's when they discovered whether their offspring had got into the schools of their choice. There was a lot of speculation in the air, with predictions of heartache and disappointment in the newspapers.
25th of February 2010
Rough diamonds: The Smith twins take their fight to Westminster
When the wife of a well-known peer visited Marketfield School near Colchester in Essex she was met by a man in Dr Martens boots and jeans, his face covered in dirt.
Leading Article: The power of role models
Michelle Obama's impromptu visit to Elizabeth Garrett Anderson School in Islington has had quite an effect. A group of teenagers from the London borough's schools visited the White House last week to receive another pep talk from Barack Obama's wife. "I see myself in you all," she told them. "The important thing is to know that you can do anything."
Leading Article: Degrees of teaching
This week's inquiry into teacher training by the Skills Commission is right to rejectthe idea that only degree holders make good teachers. Pointing out that schools and colleges are becoming so entwined with the introduction of diplomas and the raising of the education leaving age to 18, it says that we need to attract more teachers with work experience and expertise into the classroom. But we won't be able to do that, it says, unless we recognise that people with good communication skills can make just as effective classroom practitioners as those with top degrees.
Steve Devrell: Parents should have to pay for the sins of their children
Iretired this year after 36 years of teaching. It had started as a gentle jog of enjoyment and ended as a grim crawl to the retirement door. I am not alone in expressing these sentiments. The job has become harder and the demands on the teacher greater. Thankfully, I crossed the finishing line with my reputation and gold watch intact; many don't. The teachers and their teaching, the heads and their management are heavily scrutinised these days and so it should be. But there is one element of the education partnership that goes pretty well unscrutinised and that is the role of the parent.
18th of February 2010
State ambassadors: Brighton College's link with an east London school is making a difference
Nothing marks out the four sixth-formers from the rest of the pupils at Brighton College as they assemble in the imposing 19th-century chapel for the morning service. One, from last year's cohort, is a head of house and wears the academic gown of a prefect, the others are in business suits like the rest of the sixth form. All four arrived at the start of the lower sixth and have fitted in well. And why wouldn't they?
Go for growth: The International Baccalaureate is still on an upward curve
The International Baccalaureate (IB) is booming in Britain. Latest figures show a 600 per cent rise in schools offering the diploma as an alternative to A-levels over the past 10 years, with a total of 210 UK schools now running it. That makes Britain the largest provider of the IB in the world per head of population.
Alastair Stewart: 'I've had a degree of self-belief instilled in me'
Alastair Stewart, the newscaster who presents the ITV News at 6.30pm, attended Madras College in St Andrews, Scotland, the Salesian College prep school in Farnborough, and St Augustine's Abbey School in Ramsgate. He went on to read economics and politics at Bristol University.
A bridge across the great divide: Winchester College joins the academy programme
Do the words "Winchester College" and "comprehensive education" really go together? At first glance, there would appear to be very little to connect state schooling with Winchester, the cerebral seat of learning founded in 1387 by William of Wykeham, Chancellor to Richard II.
A sobering approach: Schools are getting real by teaching sensible drinking – and how to give up smoking
Alex Vero began to drink heavily in his gap year. By the time he reached university he was, in his words, "an overweight, 16-stone, drunken slob". He took up smoking, even though he was asthmatic. "I would wake up in the morning and could hardly breathe," he says. "I felt like my life was slipping away."
Book smart: Why every primary pupil needs a library
Many primary school pupils don't have the use of a library in Britain, which is why the School Library Association is on the warpath. It has just published the Primary School Library Charter to show headteachers and governors how they can afford a proper school library – an attractive space set aside for books with a designated member of staff in charge – and why they should have one.
Leading Article: We should target those most in need
It's no surprise to find that the vocabulary of the poorest children lags more than a year behind that of their peers when they start school, as the Sutton Trust shows in its latest report. But it's good to know that parents can limit the damage by reading to their offspring every day. The Sutton Trust recommends the Government provide 25 hours a week of education to the most disadvantaged three and four-year-olds instead of giving all children that age a bit more. Targeting the most needy would be a brave decision.
11th of February 2010
Denise Chevin: 'We are in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime chance to improve the Quality of learning'
"It has transformed our learning and teaching". "Pupils feel valued, and this has improved their self-esteem and will improve outcomes". "We have a set of learning spaces that will enable a generation to prepare for the 21st century". These are some of the comments made by head teachers in a survey carried out for Building, the weekly magazine I edit.
Hannah Jones: 'It's no longer possible for a school to remain an island'
To describe Building Schools for the Future (BSF) as a learning journey is an understatement. Everyone involved, from learners through staff, school leaders, stakeholders and contractors up to policymakers and politicians, has had to innovate, monitor and change.
Forest gumption: Why children should take lessons outdoors
We are in a clearing in the North Wood of Pollok Country Park on the south side of Glasgow. If you concentrate, you can pick up the low hum of traffic on the M77 motorway, but to all intents and purposes the 12 pupils from Govan High School's autism unit are in a haven, sheltered from the cold winds of the outside world by sycamore, horse chestnut, beech and elm trees and warmed by the fire they have built.