Having recently completed my final fulltime career appointment as a school leader, and being suddenly confined to restricted living due to lockdown, I have had an unexpected opportunity to reflect on a lifetime in schools and to wonder what was it all about? ‘Life is short’ was something I used to hear venerable older people say long ago, it seems, when I was young, and…
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In a January 2020 pre-Covid blog I commented on school-leaving assessment via the anvil of terminal examinations. These examinations were thrown into very sharp relief in recent months, in England, Ireland and at the International Baccalaureate Organisation for example, as authorities struggled to publish accurate predicted grade results for the class of 2020 in their…
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A recent TV report showed a student in Scotland reviewing her 2020 school-leaving examination results. The report was part of an analysis of the standardisation process used by the Scottish Qualifications Authority in this extraordinary year, when formal examinations were not written. Some problems emerged over perceived unfairness in lowering of teacher-assessed grades, but my interest…
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NEW ONLINE COURSE Hello and welcome to my new course available now via our Courses Page! The course is designed to help you in your decision-making process around taking on the role of Deputy Head in your current, or another, school. It outlines the practical skills and attributes you will need to possess and use…
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The current Covid-19 outbreak has resulted in school closures in many countries. Student learning faces significant disruption at an important time of the year (northern hemisphere) as exam season approaches for particular cohorts, and more generally for all students. Into the breach has stepped online learning, employed by many schools to maintain as regular a…
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In recent weeks there have been numerous articles and posts detailing the great lengths schools and teachers are going to ensuring that students continue their education as smoothly as possible during the current Covid-19 disruption. A theme often used was how this crisis brought out the very best in teachers as they exemplified outstanding professionalism…
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I hate to tell you this but writer’s block or interrupt or whatever way you like to describe that insane place where the words simply won’t oblige you by appearing on your screen in perfect order, is real. It can happen to anyone at any time but prefers to butt in when urgency is most…
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In recent days the former United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, spoke at GEMS Academy schools in Dubai. While addressing students and underlining the role of quality education for a better world, his standout message to students was about the importance of being global citizens and of being compassionate. When an individual of this stature,…
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Increasingly throughout my career, first as a teacher and later as a school leader I have been exercised by the conundrum of how should we assess fairly within schools and, most significantly, at school leaving examination time. For this terminal examination, in large measure, is the tool employed across the world to recognise the achievements,…
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With the recent publication of the PISA 2018 results there has been the usual flurry of correspondence and comment on the project, what the results mean for those countries and regions at the top of the table and those in the lower reaches. While attempts are being made to introduce elements into the tests which…
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