General
Legal action over A-level grade misallocation
Here is a short story of Charlie, who was awarded A and B in Maths and Further Maths, respectively, in his A-levels by his teachers in 2020. His actual predicted grade in these two subjects was A* A*, so he not only missed out on gaining admission to Warwick University but has to carry these…
Read MoreThere is light at the end of the tunnel for GCSE and A-level students
Many young people who are in their final GCSE and A-level years have been studying diligently over the Easter break, and they are doing this in preparation for teacher assessment in the next couple of weeks or so. In most good schools where students achieve top grades year in year out, the headteacher and staff…
Read MoreIs Online Learning the future for school children?
Is Online Learning the future? Closure of schools, caused by the lockdown as a result of the pandemic has forced society to learn how to utilise technology in solving a very big problem – loss of learning by children. However, before we get too excited about how brilliant online teaching technology is, and start thinking…
Read MoreThe Magic of High Expectations – how some inner-city schools are outperforming top private schools…
There was a rather surprising set of statistics in the Parent Power guide for primary schools that was published by the Sunday Times yesterday. The top state primary school scored 346 out of 360 (96%) in the SATS result for Reading, Writing and Maths. This score by Mayflower School in the East End of London…
Read MoreCan I afford a tutor?
How about, can you afford not to get a tutor? Here, I challenge you with the million pound question – is there really such a thing as value for money’, affordable tuition? However, that begs the question, if we don’t invest those extra pennies in our child’s educational prospects, can we really live with ourselves,…
Read MoreTaking back control of technology
Final thoughts: Taking back control of technology Whilst I embrace technology and appreciate its importance as a vital learning tool; I also think there are aspects of the traditional learning experience that is irreplaceable. One main one is day to day interaction with printed text – usually books, which I can touch, feel and smell.…
Read MoreIs technology the problem, or the user of it and how they use it?
Like any good thing in life, it is not usually the technology itself but how people choose to use it. I have about 5 smart phone and tablets – iPhones, iPad and Samsung for my personal use and I use about three to four of them every day. Does it mean that I spend a…
Read More7 Ways to Make the Most of your Summer Holidays
As the final few weeks of the school term pass by, and the exam period finishes for those in GCSE and A level, many students and parents are turning their thoughts to the summer break ahead. The summer holidays allow us time to rest and get some perspective on our progress in life, but they…
Read MoreThe Christmas break – getting more out of the Festive period
The school Christmas holiday period is a critical time for parents and their children – particular teenagers who are at a key stage of their education. Teenagers may not be as excited about Christmas as they were when they were younger children, but, nevertheless, there are still plenty of emotions flying around. Whilst it is…
Read MoreWill the new GCSE of grades 9 to 1 lead to new Elitism?
An article in the TES (The Times Educational Supplements – a magazine widely read by teachers) recently carried the headline “Why GCSE Reform may lead to a new ‘elitism’. The article raised concern felt in some quarters about the newly introduced numerical grading of 9-1 by OFQUAL (The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation –…
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