Jul 13
When I studied French at school, one of the books we read was the classic Le Petit Prince, by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and I remember still my slight feeling of perplexment about why we were reading what seemed, to all intents and purposes, a simple children’s book. I was an avid reader as a child, …
Jun 22
I was delighted to see Julie Robinson’s call to action last week, encouraging people to apply to become school governors, and I urge you to watch it. Julie is the CEO of the UK Independent Schools’ Council, representing the organisations which support the vast majority of independent schools throughout the country, and she is also …
Apr 27
This title is a quote from a new blog I am very much enjoying reading – not just because the author (a former English teacher and school leader) is an old friend, but because the ideas are pithy, clear and immensely practical. The blogs – which can be found at readwritetalklisten.com – are addressed directly …
Mar 16
School leadership is incredibly complex at the best of times; Covid-19 has upped the stakes a hundred-fold, though. If I had had a stress-o-meter to use on many of the leaders I have spoken to over the past 2 weeks, in different parts of the world, it would have shown readings off the chart – …
Feb 24
This is a guest blog written by Dr. Lijuan Du, Vice-Principal and Co-Principal Elect of Dalton School Hong Kong – which, in common with all Hong Kong Schools, is currently closed – with a call to us all to use the current crisis to focus deeply on what education actually means. An outbreak of pneumonia …
Feb 20
Preparing all my notes to speak next week in Dubai about how schools can enable students to become globally competent, based on my latest book, ‘The Globally Competent School: a manual’, I am flexing my presentation muscles to take on the challenge of GESS BITES. This is a stream of talks at the GESS Dubai …
Nov 18
Every time I visit Hong Kong, I leave feeling impressed and humbled by the city and the region. Geographically, it must be one of the most beautiful natural harbours in the world, and the feats of human engineering which have situated almost unfeasibly high buildings on hillsides, created high octane container terminals and developed a …
Sep 30
Over the past few weeks, I have had the privilege of listening to and talking with Early Years teachers in 4 different schools, spread across 3 different countries, on 2 different continents, and the experience has been absolutely energising. Long gone should be the days when Early Years is seen as a nice cosy little …
Sep 02
I have just been brushing up my understanding of dual language research ahead of my trip to Hong Kong this week to spend time with educators and students in the Dalton School Hong Kong. I have been a non-executive Director of the Dalton Foundation since 2015, and it has been a privilege to watch the …
Aug 26
I think I expected something different when I agreed to go to ‘400 years of collage’, an exhibition at the Scottish Modern Art Gallery Two … in fact, embarrassing though it is to admit, I know I had a vague expectation of some pretty pastels and cut up magazines. On reflection, this was not unsurprising, …