Australia and Scotland might be in different hemispheres but when it comes to education they are on the same plane. In 2010 both nations introduced new curriculums that were heavily influenced by progressive thinking. Oddly for school curriculums, ‘knowledge’ was downgraded as an ambition and was instead replaced by a more generic approach. There was…
I was recently interviewed by the Daily telegraph about a story in which Lord Kenneth Baker – a former Education Secretary – said GCSEs ought to be abolished. As the person who introduced the exams this is quite a U-turn, something his Prime Minister at the time, Margaret Thatcher, was not keen on doing. Lord…
Standards at universities should be high and academic excellence ought to be the aim. However, in order to ‘decolonise’ the curriculum and ensure ‘equity of opportunity’, the theory of ‘inclusive assessment’ has infected our once-great institutions of learning. This phrase is a euphemism for the further erosion of standards – the opposite of what universities…
Needless to say, teaching unions have baulked at the suggestion that the school day or term-time should be lengthened in order for students to catch up on work missed during lockdown. The unions exist to represent the interests of their members and that is their priority. They can’t be criticised for this, but it does…
The government is committed to holding SATs exams for Year 6 students next year – and it is the right thing to do. Testing children is crucial and the damage the lack of exams has caused over the last year will only become apparent in the future. SATs are important because they should give accurate…