May 2012 archive

Our young people need YOU. The importance of mentors.

Earlier this week, at an excellent Footdown Leadership Forum, I came across a super organisation which mentors young people to prepare them for the world of work: SATRO. Based in Surrey and the South East, it reaches out to 15,000 young people each year (5,000 primary pupils and 10,000 secondary pupils), through a combination of programmes, …

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Honesty in sport: a value at the heart of our society

A new book is due out in June – ‘The Dirtiest Race in History’, by Richard Moore – which deals with Ben Johnson’s victory in the 100m men’s finals in the 1988 Olympic Games, and his subsequent disgrace when he was discovered to have been taking drugs. To this day, I remember that race well …

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A hero among heroes to lead the Jubilee pageant: Major Kate Philp

The announcement last week that a group of British heroes will lead the Queen’s Jubilee pageant on the Thames on Sunday 3rd June, sailing in the Queen’s rowbarge Gloriana, at the head of the fleet, was greeted with pleasure at St Mary’s Calne. Among the number of servicemen and women chosen to take part – …

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Why GCSEs have had their day

John Cridland, director-general of the Confederation of British Industry, is reported in today’s Daily Telegraph to be critical of GCSEs. Young people are, he says, being “failed by the system”, as growing numbers do not develop a fundamental grasp of the 3 Rs, and are leaving school unable to function effectively in the workplace. While there …

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A little national pride goes a long way

London is looking amazing at the moment. Union flags are everywhere: all the way down Oxford Street, Regent Street and all the main thoroughfares, and Jubilee is in the air. The Jubilee pageant on Sunday 3rd June promises to be spectacular, and I shall be watching it with my family and lots of girls from …

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Teach boys to be positive about their identity

A pithy comment piece by Richard Godwin in this week’s Wednesday London Evening Standard, ‘Forget about sexism – we’re all victims now‘ draws its inspiration from Professor David Benatar’s new book ‘The Second Sexism: Discrimination Against Men and Boys’, which looks as though it might be worth a read. In it, according to Richard Godwin, Professor …

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Refreshing views on female appearance from Hillary Clinton

Hillary Clinton – or more specifically Hillary Clinton’s appearance … or more specifically still, Hillary Clinton’s appearance without make-up – was a focus of attention in last week’s Daily Mail, and it was refreshing to hear the US Secretary of State herself say that she had given up trying to look “immaculate” in public, and …

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Upside-down management and giving back to society: the message of John Timpson

At last week’s Boarding Schools Association conference in Bristol, I was privileged to hear one of the key-note speakers, John Timpson, Chairman of Timpson – best known as the ubiquitous shoe repairers. I had heard him speak many years ago at a similar conference; if anything, he struck me as having even more energy and …

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Decoding Your 21st Century Daughter: An Anxious Parent’s Guide To Bringing Up Your Teenage Daughter.

As you may have seen in this Sunday’s Mail on Sunday – (which led to a follow up commentary in Melanie Phillips’ column in Monday’s Daily Mail, and interviews on Radio 5 Live Breakfast and BBC Radio London’s Vanessa Show on Monday, as well as an article in today’s Daily Mirror) – I have written a book …

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What can we do to promote a culture of kindness in society?

If you read my comments in today’s Mail on Sunday – “Top headmistress says social networking and public rows between celebs are causing a generation of mean girls”, you will see that I am warning against the culture of nastiness that often pervades our online (and real-life) world. Why this is aimed more at women …

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