December 2011 archive

A New Year’s message to our politicians – sharpen up your act and make 2012 the start of a new era of respect

The vast majority of politicians I have met in person have impressed me with their commitment to making things happen, to changing for the better the lot of people in this country and beyond, and – essentially – to making the world a better place. I respect their drive and their strength of purpose. But …

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Essex girls, Essex women … new research on single-sex classes at university

Today’s edition of The Independent reports some very interesting small scale research at Essex University, where a group of students was split, randomly, into three teaching groups by gender – a male only group, a female only group, and a mixed gender group. At the end of the year, the marks of the female only …

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Curbing the sexualisation of children – new UK Government rules to start the New Year

News came in yesterday that Michael Gove has confirmed that changes to the National Curriculum in the UK will not now take effect until September 2014 rather than the planned September 2013, and this qualifies as a good thing in my book. We do of course have to change the national curriculum – it is …

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Delaying curriculum change – the right thing to do … but only the start

School examinations have been plastered all over the front pages this week, in the wake of the Daily Telegraph expos’ of some of the comments made by examiners – and chief examiners – on courses for teachers of their subject. Course leaders have been filmed giving strong hints about the content of next summer’s papers, …

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A Hamleys revolution: letting children be children, regardless of gender

It was interesting to read in Tuesday’s Times newspaper that Hamleys, probably the most famous toy store in the country, had decided to change its long-held policy of separating out ‘girls’ toys’ from ‘boys’ toys’. Hamleys is synonymous with children’s toys and by association with much, much more: childhood, Christmas, innocence, fun … it is …

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Cowards, bullies and ‘freedom of speech’ online … the X Factor and its moral responsibility to right its wrongs

The X Factor is over and it will be left for the media and commentators to pick through the debris. As part of this process, we must not overlook the opportunity to take a long, hard look at the moral responsibility shows like the X Factor have in what they do, and especially in the …

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X Factor, bullying, and some reflections for young people

The GSA conference in Bristol last week proved to be a very stimulating few days, and – as is common on these occasions – the whole event kicked off with a 30 minute speech from the President, so I had prepared my 4000 words and I delivered them on Monday to everyone. Most of the …

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Partnership in action: schools working together across the sectors

I had the real pleasure on Tuesday of this week to give a speech and present the prizes at the Annual Awards Evening of one of our local state schools, Abbeyfield School in Chippenham – a Business and Enterprise Specialist College for 11-18 year olds. Its motto is ‘Aspiration, Attitude, Achievement’, and this resonates so …

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The dangers of pole-dancing …

I am perplexed by the apparent craze for pole-dancing. It may not in fact be a craze, but we certainly seem to be hearing more about it these days. Marketed as ‘pole fitness’, its proponents are quick to stress the physical benefits of the classes, as well as the fact that they are ‘fun’. Quite …

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Building a third dimension to your life: women take note!

Last week I had the real pleasure of hearing a talk by Dr Heather McGregor, aka Mrs Moneypenny of the Financial Times. Frank, forthright and funny, she was imparting the benefit of her wisdom, gained over many years placing men and women in top jobs, to an audience of Sixth Formers at Wellington College, but …

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