Blogs

Reflections Of An Ex-Principal
Four-and-a-half months ago I left the Principal’s office at Bedford Free School for the last time. I took with me two carrier bags’ worth of stuff and an awful lot…
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In Defence of Textbooks
Alex Wynter, a parent and supporter of PTE, has written this blog in response to an op-ed in TES by Joe Nutt from a few days ago. You can read…
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National Poetry Day 2017
Today is National Poetry Day, with the theme being ‘freedom’ – to celebrate, we asked a few teachers to discuss a poem they teach on this theme and why. The…
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We need a rethink on disadvantaged students
Claire Heald, Executive Principal at Jane Austen College, has written this blog for us… In 2016, 27.7% of pupils at the end of key stage 4 were disadvantaged. This is…
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Forming the Curriculum
Curriculum (re-)design is again in fashion, as inspectors and inspected alike recognise what should have always been obvious: that what we teach is equally as fundamental, likely more so, than…
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Contesting the Canon
Michael Merrick has written a brilliant blog for his website titled ‘Contesting the Canon’. If you look in the comments, you’ll notice that E D Hirsch, one of the greatest…
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How two changes to exams took the joy, and the learning, out of our classrooms
Former Maths teacher David Thomas has written this wonderful blog for us: Two trends have dominated how British exams have changed over recent decades: they have become more high-stakes, and…
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Professionalising teaching through knowledge-based pedagogy
Ian Bauckham from Bennett Memorial School in Tunbridge Wells has written this blog on knowledge-based pedagogy… The recent Modern Foreign Languages Pedagogy review (https://www.tscouncil.org.uk/modern-foreign-languages-report/) which I chaired in 2016 has…
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A Response to Charlotte Gill
Our Campaign Manager Mike Burke has written a piece in response to Charlotte Gill’s article in The Guardian today… Charlotte Gill has today written a piece for The Guardian titled Music education is…
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