20 July 2017 The Price Of Politics What do we get? By John Watson What are our politicians for? We, the British public, pay the salaries of 650 MPs at £74,000 a throw, and that is before expenses, the salaries of assistants, accommodation and all the rest of it is taken into account. In the… Continue reading Issue 114: 2017 07 20: The Price Of Politics (John Watson)
Tag: education
Issue 86: 2017 01 05: Declumping Immigrant Communities (John Watson)
05 January 2017 Declumping Immigrant Communities The Casey report. by John Watson Rice, perfectly cooked so that each grain is light and separate, is one of the great delicacies of the eastern cuisine. Badly cooked, so that the grains stick together in lumps, it becomes difficult to digest. The Casey review into “opportunity and integration”… Continue reading Issue 86: 2017 01 05: Declumping Immigrant Communities (John Watson)
Issue 79: 2016 11 10: Madagascar Today (Lynda Goetz)
10 November 2016 Madagascar Today (Part 2) A fascinating and tragic country. by Lynda Goetz “Madagascar has become the world’s poorest country,” asserted the guide with whom I stood watching the out-of-control fire approach closer and closer to our very basic lodge on the edge of the Ankarana Special Reserve. “It shouldn’t be, because it… Continue reading Issue 79: 2016 11 10: Madagascar Today (Lynda Goetz)
Issue 58: 2016 06 16: The Time Is Out Of Joint (John Watson)
16 June 2016 The Time Is Out Of Joint The need for reform goes far beyond the EU. By John Watson In or Out, Remain or Leave, next Thursday will be a day of decision and whichever way the vote goes the watchword of the winners will be “Reform”. What that means will depend on… Continue reading Issue 58: 2016 06 16: The Time Is Out Of Joint (John Watson)
Issue 54: 2016 05 19: Week in Brief: UK
19 May 2016 Week in Brief: UK Queen’s Speech MEASURES INCLUDED: the Queen’s speech included: a legal right to faster broadband (although residents in the remotest properties may have to contribute); restrictions on access to porn sites; measures to encourage driverless cars; a streamlining of planning; measures to make it easier to switch banks and… Continue reading Issue 54: 2016 05 19: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 54: 2016 05 19: Pub Cricket (Chin Chin)
19 May 2016 Pub Cricket Peace on the road By Chin Chin A game of pub cricket, yes, that used to be the key to keeping the family happy when setting out by car on a long drive to Wales or Scotland. It was a good game because there was no element of skill in… Continue reading Issue 54: 2016 05 19: Pub Cricket (Chin Chin)
Issue 53: 2016 05 12: Children starting school… (Lynda Goetz)
12 May 2016 Children Starting School… … swiping but not speaking. by Lynda Goetz ‘Around one in three children starting school is not ready for the classroom, with many lacking social skills, suffering speech problems or not toilet trained.’ A reception class (with apologies and acknowledgements to the late Joyce Grenfell): Good morning, children. I’m… Continue reading Issue 53: 2016 05 12: Children starting school… (Lynda Goetz)
Issue 52: 2016 05 05: Week in Brief: UK
05 May 2016 Week in Brief: UK EU Referendum VOTE LEAVE RESIGNATION: Labour donor John Mills has left the Vote Leave campaign to set up a separate group for Labour supporters favouring Brexit. He was dissatisfied by the attitude of Vote Leave to members of the Party. CLINTON AND BLAIR: If the exigencies of… Continue reading Issue 52: 2016 05 05: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 51: 2016 04 28: Academies – A Step Too Far (John Watson)
28 April 2016 Academies – A Step Too Far The row about whether all schools should have to adopt academy status is an unwelcome distraction. By John Watson You would have thought that the European referendum was sufficiently exciting. A Cabinet split into two factions, a decision which will determine Britain’s place in the world… Continue reading Issue 51: 2016 04 28: Academies – A Step Too Far (John Watson)
Issue 45: 2016 03 17: Teaching Maths (John Watson)
17 March 2016 Teaching Maths UK at 26th by John Watson “A mile wide and an inch deep” might be an achievement if one was talking about some new way of manufacturing plate-glass. It certainly isn’t, however, when the subject is the nation’s maths curriculum. And yet that is the expression used by Andreas Schleicher,… Continue reading Issue 45: 2016 03 17: Teaching Maths (John Watson)
Issue 15: 2015 08 13 Private education
13 August 2015 The hidden benefits of private education By John Watson On 6 August 2015, Jake Anders of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research published a research paper which now appears on the website of the Sutton Trust. It is entitled: “Does socio-economic background affect pay growth among early entrants to high… Continue reading Issue 15: 2015 08 13 Private education
Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Opening Your Oyster
02 July 2015 Opening Your Oyster by John Watson Got a degree? Now get the job! So here you are. The exam results are through and at last, after long hard years, the education system has finally spat you out. You have achieved the degree you had hoped for and the horizon should be aglow… Continue reading Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Opening Your Oyster
Issue 6: 2015 06 11: Exams – a bipartisan approach is needed
11 June 2015 Exams – a bipartisan approach is needed by John Watson It is that time of year again. The summer is the exam season and it is also the time for new proposals regarding the examination system. This time it is Tristram Hunt, Labour’s education spokesman who says that, had Labour taken power,… Continue reading Issue 6: 2015 06 11: Exams – a bipartisan approach is needed
