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Recent Posts
- Zola : a political reading. August 13, 2023
- Hotter than July? August 5, 2023
- Rethinking work July 30, 2023
- Educating for political literacy in an age of crisis. July 21, 2023
- Savoirs et valeurs : pratiquer et conjuguer July 21, 2023
- ‘Transformative Teaching and Learning in Further Education – Pedagogies of Hope and Social Justice’ July 18, 2023
- Dilemmas of Growth June 14, 2023
- A broader view of skills? June 7, 2023
- In praise of ‘low value’ subjects. February 27, 2023
- Frigga Haug and the mystery of learning December 6, 2022
- Debating Growth. November 29, 2022
- Code red for human survival November 8, 2022
- The politics of silence. September 4, 2022
- Posts on Corsican themes. August 10, 2022
- When Corsica welcomed thousands of Serb refugees (1916) August 9, 2022
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Author Archives: Eddie Playfair
Celebrating success or manipulating data?
The Department for Education’s public relations machine seems very keen on London Academy of Excellence (LAE), the 16-19 free school established in Newham 2 years ago by a group of fee-charging schools. They routinely re-tweet complimentary media coverage of LAE … Continue reading
Posted in NewVIc
Tagged achievement, Newham Sixth Form College, NewVIc, progression, Universities
1 Comment
Don’t be young!
It’s a tough time to be young. Since 2010, young people have taken quite a battering from policies and cuts which have narrowed their opportunities and limited their prospects of becoming active, fulfilled members of society. All this in a context of … Continue reading
Posted in Education
Tagged aspiration tax, competition, Education, selection, Social cohesion, Solidarity, young people
1 Comment
The National Bacc: a “one nation” curriculum
The curriculum we offer young people aged 14-18 in England is a divided patchwork of qualifications which is increasingly seen in hierarchical terms: “facilitating” A levels worth the most, non “facilitating” A-levels worth less and vocational qualifications least valued of … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Education policy, Politics
Tagged curriculum, Education, liberal education
2 Comments
London’s colleges promoting social mobility
Inner London’s colleges are helping more disadvantaged students get to university than all its school sixth forms. In 2010, Inner London’s 19 colleges and 16-19 schools helped more disadvantaged students to progress to university than all 81 of the area’s … Continue reading
16 year olds need a universal “sixth form UCAS”
Nick Clegg’s announcement that the government wants to introduce a “UCAS-style one-stop on-line shop for 16 year olds who do not want to go to university” (BBC 27/02/14) is an interesting idea, even with all those hyphens. However, as presented … Continue reading
The comprehensive college
Why do we persist in describing our sixth form college as comprehensive when the term has been unfashionable for some time and there is no requirement to have an inclusive admissions policy? We’re proud to be comprehensive and, for us, … Continue reading
Unashamedly egalitarian
If you had the choice before birth of the type of society to be born into but didn’t know your status in advance, what type of society would you choose? No doubt most of us would choose a more egalitarian … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Education policy
Tagged comprehensive education, Education, Equality, marketisation, Social mobility
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College sport matters: the legacy of an incredible summer
College sport does matter but there is no universal entitlement and the opportunities available to students often depend on where they happen to study. It’s time for the commitment shown by colleges to be matched by a joined-up strategy from … Continue reading
Targeted by the “aspiration tax”
The government’s proposed 17.5% cut to funding for 18 year olds in full-time education has caused outrage across the sixth form and college sector. In a previous post I describe this as an “aspiration tax” which will target those very … Continue reading
Colleges are real engines of social mobility
Just 10 London colleges account for 10% of the most disadvantaged students who progress to university from the whole of England. These are among the greatest engines of social mobility for young people. National data on progression to higher education in 2010 show that … Continue reading
One nation education
“One nation under a groove … is what we’re funkin’ for” sang George Clinton’s Funkadelic in the late 1970’s. After I bought the single I had the tune in my head for weeks. It was funky and catchy and the lyrics … Continue reading
10 proposals to improve education
Following my previous post: 10 principles to shape education, I would like to suggest 10 measures to start putting those principles into practice: 1. Aim for a comprehensive system: state funded schools, colleges and universities should have a single status … Continue reading
Drop the aspiration tax
The government has announced that funding for 18 year olds studying in colleges and sixth forms in England is to be cut by 17.5% per student next academic year. Among those affected will be a large number of students currently … Continue reading
Young people between hope and despair
Young people’s natural reserves of hope are running low in the current recession. As a result, much of Britain’s youth now seem strangely suspended between hope and despair. In the London borough of Newham, reasons for despair are not hard … Continue reading
Posted in Education, NewVIc
Tagged citizenship education, community education, Education, hope, liberal education, London, Newham, protest, selection, Shaun Bailey, Social mobility, young people, Youth
1 Comment
Eddie Playfair 