Visiting the world-leading Science Museum in London last week, I was lucky to be able to attend a showing of a relatively recent (2013) addition to their collection of IMAX films, ‘The Mysteries of the Unseen World’. If you haven’t seen it, do try to see it at some point; at the very least, look …
Category: thinking
Oct 14
To assess or not to assess: the great GCSE debacle
Recent announcements regarding the abandonment of GCSEs in favour of an English Baccalaureate should have prompted once again the question of whether or not assessments at this stage of a young person’s career are in fact worthwhile, but these voices have been drowned out as commentators have rushed to deal with the details of the …
Jun 24
What sort of schools do we need? Reflections on a debate at the Wellington College Festival of Education
What a stimulating day! It was a pleasure to discuss wide-ranging educational issues at the Wellington College Festival of Education; I sat on a panel debating the question: What sort of schools do we need? For me, the answer is simple – we need great schools. There are, I believe, three main elements to this …
May 23
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 systemâ€, 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 …
Dec 19
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, …