Jan 30
On Friday evening I travelled down to Mount House Prep School in Tavistock, Devon to give a talk at their Friday service, and it was a lovely occasion. Mount House is a delightful school – small, warm, friendly and well-supported by parents, even to the extent that they are regular contributors to the great school …
Jan 28
Jean Gross, the Government’s Communications Champion, – awarded a CBE in the New Year’s Honours List – came to talk at the GSA conference which I hosted as GSA President in Bristol in November, and she speaks out tirelessly about the need for us to communicate effectively with children. Her goal is simple: she wants …
Jan 23
A great article on independent schools appeared in last week’s Times newspaper. Written by the thoughtful and insightful Greg Hurst, Education Editor of the Times, it posed the question ‘Just how good are independent schools?’ and proceeded to look at the evidence. The article quite rightly acknowledged that independent schools come in many shapes and …
Jan 20
One of the sessions at the UK Girls’ Schools Association Conference in Bristol in November, which I hosted as GSA President, was an uplifting interactive conversation with colleagues from the States. It immediately preceded the arrival of Nick Gibb, Minister of State for Schools, who was delayed; the positive upshot was that we were able …
Jan 17
I am really curious to see The Iron Lady – although, as with most films, I will have to wait until it comes out on DVD and I can squeeze in the time to watch it between other commitments. I am sure it will be worth the wait – since its premiere it has elicited …
Jan 15
Surveys, by their nature, are newsworthy. They give a snapshot of a current issue at the current moment amongst whichever group they target, and as a result they will often make it into the daily news schedule. Sometimes they make a big splash, become major news items and have producers running to elicit requests for …
Jan 13
Just over 16 years ago, the author of this new book for women, Dancing Round the Handbags, had a vision of a different life, of removing herself from the overloaded, overwhelming life that she was leading as a senior executive and a mother of two. Crawling exhausted into her bed one night, she dreamed that …
Jan 10
Yesterday, according to the Daily Mail, was the day when most people gave up on their New Year’s resolutions and slipped back into old habits. Apparently, on average, people make the same New Year’s resolution four times in total – and, presumably, break it the same number of times. Opinion is divided on whether the …
Jan 08
Last night I found myself in a wine bar/nightclub on the King’s Road, Chelsea, London – not, I hasten to add, where I would normally expect to find myself on a Saturday evening shortly before the start of the Spring Term … or, indeed, on a Saturday night ever. Having arrived unfashionably early, I was …
Jan 05
Given the increasingly bleak outlook for graduates of our universities, what can universities be doing to ensure that students who come to the end of their time at university are placed as well as possible to be able to embark on a fulfilling and satisfying career? Here, in no particular order, are my suggestions: Make …