Latest articles


Articles for the Daily Telegraph

There are rumours that Oxford and Cambridge are losing their allure, particularly for the independent-school pupils who make up more than half of each university’s intake. Teachers and pupils agree that Harvard, Yale and Princeton now are first choice for many high-fliers.

Oxbridge    2008



Articles appearing in the Guardian

How can schools support the 'economic wellbeing' of their students? One way is to give them jobs. Victoria Neumark reports

Running the show    July 1, 2008

Maths Inspiration aims to show teenagers how much fun it can be - as well as a valuable tool for the future

Magic numbers    April 8, 2008

One in 10 children have mental-health difficulties. A new online service means help is at hand.

Wellbeing and the web    January 15, 2008



Articles appearing on the SecEd website

Good news for maths teachers who feel hemmed in by keystage 3 tests and stifled by the Framework curriculum. Exciting new materials go into production this term (spring 2008). By September, every secondary school in the land will receive their free pack of 23 maths case studies, courtesy of charity the Bowland Trust.

Maths in the real world    January 10, 2008

There’s more of a buzz about learning now, says Richard Verity, assistant head at South Holderness technology college. Within two years, South Holderness has gone from an Ofsted notice to improve (2006) to “all areas satisfactory and some areas good” (2007).

Turning a school around    April 24, 2008



Articles appearing in Slightly Foxed magazine

Some of the letters are a bit like pinching oneself to remind oneself that one is still awake. History was not history when it was happening: it was much worse. The Civil War, province today commandeered by mad re-enacters, truly ripped apart families and communities.

Book review: Letters, Oxford Book of Letters   2008



Articles appearing in the The Sunday Times

Pam Alexander combines organisational skills, dramatic jewellery, a passion for housing and choral singing.

Singing out for the souteast    June 15, 2008

‘Three times this year? I didn’t know I was going three times!”James Hart, 18, has just been told by his mother that he’s booked in for a series of private revision sessions before his A-level exams this summer.

Revision course must be chosen carefully    February 10, 2008

GCSE coursework is generating a huge exam scam, with all the family joining in to ensure good grades

Coursework – a middle-class cheat's charter    January 13, 2008

Leilah was fretting. English was her favourite subject but she hadn’t quite got a handle on her A-level coursework. But she knew that her older sister, Sadie, had not only written a stonking great essay on Pride and Prejudice two years before but had also gained full marks for it – at another school.

Case studies – part one    2008

Rosa got As in all her subjects and is currently on her gap year considering offers from Bristol and UCL to study history of art with Italian. “Not bad for a kid called severely dyslexic at the age of five,” says her mother.

Case studies – part two    2008



Articles appearing in The Times Educational Supplement

Anne Clarke hit the headlines when she advertised in Private Eye for sponsors to help her school become a technology college. Today it is thriving and she is set to retire. She tells why she is going

The Conversation: Leaving at the top    June 6, 2008

William Atkinson is on a mission to extend opportunities to his disadvantaged pupils and spearhead learning in the wider community. He tells why setting up a sixth form is integral to his plan

The Conversation: A new sixth form    May 30, 2008

Ian Mikardo High is a special school that offers pupils a tailor-made curriculum based on principles of psychotherapy. Claire Lillis, the head, tells how it achieved 'outstanding' status

The Conversation: Emotional support    May 16, 2008

How do you manage when three out of ten of your pupils move schools each year? Marva Rollins explains the strategies she has adopted

The Conversation: Pupil mobility    April 25, 2008

Barry Day's school has scored in the top 10 for CVA for five years. He explains how it was achieved

The Conversation: Adding value    March 14, 2008

Tests punctuate my son's school life. Yet they cause him no especial grief. He is not one of those "tested to destruction" kids. He just comes home, learns his stuff, goes in, does the test, checks if he hasn't learnt anything, then if necessary learns it again. Nor is he some teenage angel; this is the pattern of behaviour which the school lays down, and pupils - mostly - follow.

Routine takes the drama out of testing    January 4, 2008