Latest Blog Posts
Unequal funding may be the greatest injustice of all
In recent months I have started to think that I was becoming unshockable. The simmering anger triggered by the early days of the coalition has faded. I even managed to spend 90 minutes in a studio with free school founder Toby Young recently only to emerge having found points of agreement. What’s left is just […]
Why should the state bail out failing private schools?
More than a hundred private schools are predicted to make the move in the state sector in the next decade according to former schools minister Lord Adonis. Should we be delighted, or dismayed? Most people would probably think any reduction in the number of “fee charging” schools in our highly stratified education system is a […]
The bitterest pill of all
It is just over three years since I helped to set up the Local Schools Network. Originally intended as a forum to celebrate the successes of local state schools, the LSN has become much more than that. The contributions of parents, teachers and governors across the country mean it has become a place to discuss […]
What I learned at school
My overwhelming memory of my school days is of freedom, to grow and develop as an individual and to learn to love individual subjects. It always amuses me to read about how much more rigorous education was supposed to be back then – I started secondary school in 1968. Although we had some wonderful, inspiring […]
