Search results for: oxford hullabaloo
Oxford Admission: all White, all Brown and all the Hullabaloo!
A recent comment from the prime minister, regarding the ethnic balance of new undergraduates admitted to Oxford University, appeared in the Daily Telegraph on Tuesday 12th April under the heading: “Cameron brands all-white’ Oxford a disgrace . It has to be said that there is not a huge difference between the proportion of working class…
Read MoreThe Autumn – a time to reflect and look forward to the year ahead
What a lovely autumn we’ve been having. I used to like the spring a lot, more even than the summer itself. For me, the great thing about the spring is the anticipation of summer – not that the summer always lives to our expectations… If one really considers it, the autumn has so many things…
Read MoreUniversity – Russell Group vs. Others
Russell Group universities are a cluster of twenty-four select, elite institutions established in 1994 with the aim of expressing and protecting common interests. Since its founding nineteen years ago, the Russell Group has grown and expanded with vigour and now includes some of the most prestigious “big brand” establishments in the game – including the…
Read MoreAre universities elitist? Paddle your own canoe!
It is the case that employers value a degree obtained from some universities more than they do others. For most organisations, Russell Group Universities are right at the top, followed by the so-called Red-Brick universities. Sadly, at the bottom of the pile with regards to how they value universities are the old polytechnics, which were…
Read MoreShould we bring back O-Levels from the grave? Or plod along with GCSE? The way forward
The current debate instigated by Michael Gove on whether to bring back the O-level by the secretary of state for Education, has once again aroused passion about the way our Education system is structured and how well it is working. Whenever the issue of educating young people comes up, one aspect which always comes to…
Read MoreGood school, bad school, bog standard comp: How good is good?
I was living in London during my time in the sixth form, and was determined not to go to university in London but instead move to a quieter place. One of my teachers told us about his son, who was at Hull University, and I thought: that sounds nice, a small village up north! Of…
Read MoreAchieving success in school – Nature or Nurture?
Doing the right thing plays a bigger part in young people’s success to achieve high examination grades than intelligence. If a young person is provided with the guidance and support they require, their chance of success is very high irrespective of how high their IQ is or which socio- economic background they come from. Over…
Read MoreAre private schools really 400 times more successful than comprehensives?
It was reported on Radio 4 this morning that a study by the Sutton Trust shows that the top five schools in the country, four of whom are fee-paying, send more students to Oxbridge than two thirds of all comprehensive schools. Quoting the Mail Online “Top five schools that fill Oxford and Cambridge: They take…
Read More