I’m a huge advocate of driving up standards in our education system but when it comes to academies I wish the government would put on the brakes. In his 2016 Budget, the Chancellor announced that all schools will become academies by 2022. Don’t get me wrong, there are many advantages to schools having more autonomy…
It’s taken long enough but at last education chiefs are recognising the need for children to get the basics right in maths. A key part of this is learning their times tables. The government has announced that all 11-year-olds will be tested on their times tables before leaving primary school. During the progressive education revolution…
When it comes to students’ performance, particularly in maths, China is far outstripping most of the world. And I think we can learn a lot from them – both the good and the not so good. It came as no surprise to me when five teachers from China, who attempted an ultra-strict 12-hour teaching day…
Following the news that Chatham Grammar School for Boys is moving to a mixed sex school, BBC Kent asked me to comment on what the impact would be on the pupils and teachers.
With China leading the way in academic achievement, it makes sense for us in the UK to observe the Chinese schools’ methods of teaching and see what, if anything, can be learnt from the Chinese education system. The three episodes of BBC2’s programme ‘Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School’ aimed to do just that…