The government’s pledge to re-build every secondary school in the country, together with the rapid rolling-out of the academies programme, has put school design at the forefront of the DCSF’s mind. Apparently not, according to the government’s architectural advisers who this week have expressed serious concern over the ‘substandard’ designs of the majority of current… [Read More]
As father of two teenagers growing up in the nation’s capital, I am only too acutely aware of all the physical as well as moral dangers to which young people are exposed these days. No weekend passes hardly but that, along with countless other parents, I spend many hours plagued by mounting anxiety as to… [Read More]
Ireland voted ‘No’ to the Lisbon Treaty On 13th June 2008. The ‘No’ campaign was led by single-issue pressure group Libertas whose exclusive objective was to secure a resounding ‘NO!’ to the Lisbon Treaty. Well then, congratulations Libertas! Job done! Surely Libertas’ chairman, Declan Ganley can now return to massaging his business millions whilst enjoying… [Read More]
[This commentary by Prof. David Conway was originally written on 10 June 2008 – it is reposted here so it can be linked to John White’s response to Conway’s claims] This year sees the twentieth anniversary of the national curriculum. To mark the occasion, last week London University’s Institute of Education held a conference on… [Read More]
The past month has the seen the Government’s SATS exam system implode in the bureaucratic equivalent of an ageing star collapsing into a black hole. There were delays to the SATS results and claims that the delays were just to make sure that the release was orderly and complete. Then the release this week was… [Read More]
If anyone were seemingly less well-suited to be in charge of the country’s education system, it is surely the current Secretary of State for Schools, Ed Balls. For anyone to be qualified for that job surely demands that he or she should have some modicum of feeling for what the purpose of education of is.… [Read More]
Brussels’ ever tightening grip on EU member states has seen supranational powers creep into the daily lives of ordinary Europeans. This loss of local power has eroded regional identities. However, some of Europe’s citizens are taking a stand against the surge of Brussels’ influence; battling the tide of EU domination in small, but hugely significant,… [Read More]
‘Until last month’, writes Jenni Russell in The Guardian, ‘it had been years since I’d been inside [A&E]. In the intervening time I assumed that the money poured into the NHS would have made a visible difference to A&E too.’ In her view, it hasn’t; ‘barbaric’, ‘no-one to help’, ‘inhuman’ are powerful words. Yet sadly,… [Read More]
Following Wales’ request last year, the EU is close to recognising Scottish, Gaelic and Welsh alongside the current 23 languages officially used by the EU institutions. Welsh is already used in the country’s own Assembly and spoken by one in five members of the Welsh population, but under the new proposal, Scottish and Welsh citizens… [Read More]
… you still have plenty to fear, especially if your name is a popular one in Britain. The state has rewarded one Amanda Hodgson’s willingness to volunteer to help at a local school by branding her an alcoholic thug and heroin addict. Rather than receiving an apology for the obvious errors, she has been told… [Read More]