Blog
A hopeful New Year Message to all those on the Initiative’s contact list
There comes a time in an individual’s, or institution’s, life when a juxtaposition of what is going on in our own life coincides with significant ... Read on
No Comments »Open letter to the nation’s newspapers
In response to the wide national coverage on Britain’s ever-declining “educational standards” as measured by the OECD, John Abbott has sent this letter to half ... Read on
No Comments »There’s not much call for thinking these days
On the day after the August bank holiday Aditya Chakrabortty caught the mood of many Guardian readers as they left their holiday clothes behind them, changed into their suits and reluctantly sat down at their desk to carry on with the daily grind.
No Comments »Response to The Review of Secondary Schools made by BANES
The Review of Secondary Schools made by BANES can easily remind the reader of the proverbial Irishman who, having been asked how to get to a particular location replied “Ah, if that’s where you want to get to, then I wouldn’t start from here!”
No Comments »Dare to be Wise?
Being back in Manchester for the Iran Reunion stimulated many thoughts especially as I had been invited to address the Sixth Form of Withington Girls’ School. Withington has consistently achieved the best A-Level results for girls in this country…
No Comments »Running too Fast
It’s not simply on bad days that we feel we are running too fast; even when things are going well we just don’t have enough time to think.
2 Comments »Magnanimity
“The biggest shake-up of education since the 1944 Education Act” proclaims the media while Mr Gove loses no opportunity to explain that this will revitalise the economy and strengthen individuals to accept greater responsibility for themselves. We live, he and the Prime Minister tell us in most difficult times.
No Comments »The Apprentice
Apprenticeship is back in the news. What England needs, Vince Cable the new Business Secretary said on The Today Programme, is many more apprentices… men and women whose studies combine the theoretical with the applied.
1 Comment »Eradicating Underperformance
It is a month since the Election, and the new coalition government is beginning to shake itself out. Last summer the Initiative issued a Briefing Paper for Parliamentarians on the Design Faults at the Heart of English Education. Each MP had a copy and so shortly will all recently-elected Members.
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