Author Archives: Eddie Playfair

About Eddie Playfair

I am a Senior Policy Manager at the Association of Colleges (AoC) having previously been a college principal for 16 years and a teacher before that. I live in East London and I blog in a personal capacity about education and culture. I also tweet at @eddieplayfair

The Blunkett review and education’s democratic deficit

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

The Blunkett review is to be welcomed and its implementation would clearly help recreate an education system where there is none. However, it does not fully address English education’s democratic deficit. “Standards not structures” never made much sense as a mantra. Politicians … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, Politics | Tagged accountability, David Blunkett, Democracy, Education, education system, elections, England, Labour party, local authorities, local democracy, structures | 1 Comment

Barack Obama, community organiser

Posted on May 4, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

I was asked to speak on “Obama as a role model for young people”. To do this I think we need to understand what shaped Barack Obama. He didn’t come from nowhere. Like all of us he comes from somewhere and … Continue reading →

Posted in History, NewVIc, Politics | Tagged Barack Obama, Chicago, community organising, Hull House, Jane Addams, London, London citizens, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, Saul Alinsky, Solidarity, Toynbee Hall, volunteering | Leave a comment

My NewVIc story: Zakiyah Qureshi

Posted on April 30, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

It started with a dream. A dream come true! My name is Zakiyah Qureshi, I live in Tower Hamlets and I am currently studying Project Management in Construction at University College London (UCL). My journey started at Langdon Park School when I wanted … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Guest blogs, NewVIc | Tagged Langdon Park school, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, NewVIc alumni, Universities, University College London (UCL), vocational education, women into construction | Leave a comment

Science in poetry

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Sidereus Nuncius* I have seen two-horned Venus Travelling gently in the sky. I have seen valleys and mountains on the Moon, Saturn with its three bodies; I, Galileo, first among humans, Have seen four stars circle around Jupiter, The Milky Way … Continue reading →

Posted in Learning resources, Poetry | Tagged Charles Darwin, Christina Rossetti, Galileo Galilei, Lavinia Greenlaw, Marie Curie, Miroslav Holub, Primo Levi, Ruth Padel, Science, William Blake | Leave a comment

My NewVIc story: Husnain Nasim

Posted on April 25, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Husnain is in his 3rd year of studying law at the university of Cambridge. Knowledge is empowerment and you learn as much about yourself as about the world around you. With the intention of embarking on this great journey, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest blogs, NewVIc | Tagged Cambridge university, Law, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, NewVIc alumni, Universities | Leave a comment

Election 2015: Labour’s draft education manifesto

Posted on April 21, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Will education feature as a significant campaign issue in the 2015 general election? Will the major parties be offering us distinct visions of the future of education? It’s clear that any incoming government will inherit a divided and incoherent non-system. … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, Politics | Tagged Colleges, Democracy, economy, Education, Labour party, Universities, vocational education | 1 Comment

Post-16 funding: making the wrong choices

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

I agree with quite a lot of what Michael Gove says about the purpose of education and I like his championing of egalitarian aims. I welcome the fact that he has moved the Conservative party away from selection pre-16. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, NewVIc | Tagged aspiration tax, NewVIc, Post-16 funding, selection, Social cohesion, Social mobility | 1 Comment

The digital college: learning from France

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

I have just returned from #Ecritech5, a major French digital education conference held in Nice. I was invited to give a presentation about recent developments in digital learning at Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc). For those who are interested and … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, Teaching and learning | Tagged digital college, e-learning, Education Nationale, France | Leave a comment

Aspiration tax for the many, jackpot for the few

Posted on April 6, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Now that colleges have received their funding allocations for next year, we know the full extent of the “aspiration tax” on 18 year olds. At Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc), 472 of our students are over 18 and they will … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, NewVIc, Politics | Tagged 16-19 free school, 18 year olds, aspiration tax, Newham Sixth Form College, Post-16 funding, Sixth form college | 1 Comment

Russell group offers: hype and reality

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Comprehensive sixth form college: 162 Selective 16-19 free school: 100 I wrote here about the misleading use of Russell group offer data to demonstrate the impact of a new 16-19 free school in our area. The fact that 100 students from … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, NewVIc | Tagged Newham, NewVIc, Russell group, Sixth form college, Universities, university progression | 1 Comment

Existing state-funded sixth forms offer better value for money

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Private fee-charging schools promote themselves as market leaders in post-16 education and are increasingly involved in launching new publicly funded sixth form projects such as the London Academy of Excellence and Westminster Harris sixth form. But do they offer value … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, NewVIc | Tagged Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, Private education, Public education, selection | Leave a comment

My NewVIc story: Airey Grant

Posted on March 25, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Airey Grant My journey begins like that of every other ambitious student; I had big ideas about what I could become when I got older and started to make plans for how I would get there. Although my parents were … Continue reading →

Posted in Guest blogs, NewVIc | Tagged enterprise, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, NewVIc alumni | Leave a comment

Culture, tradition and values in education

Posted on March 23, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Eric Robinson, who died in 2011, was an outstanding and progressive college principal and polytechnic director. He was appointed deputy director of North East London Polytechnic (now the University of East London) in 1970, led Bradford College from 1973 to … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged Colleges and Universities, Cultural heritage, culture, Education, Eric Robinson, liberal education, really useful knowledge, tradition, values | 3 Comments

Progs and trads: is a synthesis possible?

Posted on March 22, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Dialectical pairings like “radical traditionalism” or “revolutionary reformism” may seem paradoxical but instead of cancelling each other out, the contradictions they contain can make us think about each idea in relation to the other. This is not just an attempt … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Teaching and learning | Tagged Education, John Dewey, knowledge, learning, progressive education, teaching, traditional education | 6 Comments

Guess what? Vocational students go to university too

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Zakiyah, Shah, Robyn, Natasha and Daiva all have something in common; they are high achieving vocational students who completed advanced courses at NewVIc last year. Together with many others, they achieved the highest possible grades. In their case in: construction, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, NewVIc | Tagged Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, Russell group, Universities, vocational education, young people | 4 Comments

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