Yesterday’s Times reported that a ‘top-ranking state school has slashed the amount of homework set, saying that too much of it can be “depressing” and put children off learning.’ The head of the school that had taken this action was quoted as saying: ‘We felt that homework was taking over…. Ultimately, I don’t think we… [Read More]
Czech president Václav Klaus has said he will support Declan Ganley if he launches Libertas (the organisation which led the campaign for Ireland to vote ‘No’ to the Lisbon Treaty) as a pan-EU political party at the next European Parliament elections in 2009. Ganley has said that he intends to transform the 2009 EP election… [Read More]
Whilst the Liberal Democrats are having to work hard for coverage of their policy proposals this week, amidst a storm of financial and political crises, their education policies do appear to have caught the attention of teachers, according to a Times Education Supplement (TES) poll published today, writes Anastasia de Waal.
According to a recent OECD report, Britain has slipped down the international league table showing the graduation rates of different industrialised countries: that is, the proportion of their 25-34 year olds with degrees. Whereas eight years ago, Britain lay in fourth place, now it lies in 12th place. How much should we care? For broadcaster… [Read More]
The EU is eager to prove itself as a geo-political force, most recently by leading negotiations to appease the troubles between Russia and Georgia. (That is if you discount the genius of the original peace deal constructed to enable Russia to legally continue its military force…) But there is certainly a new, closer-to-home, battle which… [Read More]
Valery Giscard d’Estaing explored the idea that Britain should be offered a ‘special status’ within the EU at a conference held in Westminster on Monday, writes Laura Kelleher. The former French President and author of the EU constitution reaffirmed his commitment to European integration, but suggested that British opt-out clauses should take the form of… [Read More]
Via Freeborn John, here is a haunting article by an anonymous police detective describing one violent death and our criminal justice system’s terrifyingly inadequate response.
Infant classes of 20 or under needed to close the achievement gap OECD figures out today show how poorly the UK continues to compare internationally on class size. Primary class sizes rank 4th largest at 25.8 (compared to the OECD average of 21.5). Additional government figures reveal that in England’s primary schools in 2007/08 the… [Read More]
During the last ten years, the Westminster Government has permitted and then forbidden schoolchildren to use calculators in examinations no fewer than seven times. If one single statistic could be said to reveal just how ill-equipped government is to make detailed decisions about such educational matters, this statistic surely is it. It was cited by… [Read More]
In an article for The Fraser Institute, we argue the lessons for Canada from the NHS reform programme are less that competition in health care has failed, but rather that market-based health care reforms in the UK have been crippled by the government’s unwillingness to stop directing the service from the centre. The reform programme… [Read More]