Tag Archives: Education

How to choose a sixth form

Posted on August 19, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

During year 11 you are free to apply to any sixth form you want, whether it’s a sixth form college, further education college or school sixth form. If your own school has a sixth form, there is absolutely no requirement … Continue reading →

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Market madness #4 A good system can help schools improve

Posted on August 15, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

A series of short posts about the marketisation of public education: #4 A good system can help schools improve. Whenever I am asked to explain English secondary education to foreign visitors I usually start by saying that there is no … Continue reading →

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Socrate et le numerique

Posted on July 26, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Il y a 2,400 ans en Grèce antique quand le principal moyen de transmission culturelle et d’apprentissage était la langue parlée, le philosophe Socrate avait prevenu que la parole écrite posait de graves risques pour la société. Dans une culture … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, en Francais, Teaching and learning | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

What is learning? Philippe Meirieu

Posted on July 23, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Philippe Meirieu is a French academic and Green party politician. His educational thinking starts from an ethical and egalitarian position and a commitment to emancipation through learning. He is actively involved in both educational and political debate and engages readily … Continue reading →

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Post-16: education’s wild frontier

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Sixth form education in England has become the wild frontier for selection and marketisation with a plethora of new providers, whether 11-18 academies or 16-18 free schools trying to outdo each other in setting ever more exclusive entry requirements and competing … Continue reading →

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Labour’s vocational vision: two-nation thinking wrapped in one-nation talk?

Posted on July 19, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

The Labour party wants to position itself as the party of skills and vocational education. Party leader Ed Miliband and shadow minister Liam Byrne have both made recent major speeches on this issue. Clearly, any party standing on a ‘one … Continue reading →

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College success with disadvantaged students

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) in East London sent more disadvantaged students to university than any other sixth form in the country in 2011. Overall, England’s 338 colleges sent more disadvantaged students to university than its 1,839 school sixth forms: … Continue reading →

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How to achieve high university progression rates

Posted on June 21, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Newham Sixth Form College (NewVIc) in East London is a large comprehensive sixth form college serving one of England’s most socio-economically disadvantaged communities. Most of our advanced level students start with below average prior achievement. Yet we have university progression … Continue reading →

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If not now, when?

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

So, first we slashed the funding for education for 18 year olds Even if they were half way through a 2 year advanced course. When was education ever the wrong choice?   Then, if they haven’t yet achieved an advanced … Continue reading →

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Market madness #3 The well-informed educational consumer

Posted on June 17, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

A series of short posts about the marketisation of public education: #3 The well-informed educational consumer. An ideal market requires well informed consumers who are in a position to make choices between products based on accurate information about the things … Continue reading →

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Maxine Greene: resisting one-dimensionality

Posted on June 13, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Maxine Greene, the eminent American teacher, teacher educator and educational philosopher died last month aged 96. She is relatively little known in the UK and her passing doesn’t seem to have registered much in the British education media. It’s too … Continue reading →

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A pale shadow of democracy

Posted on June 10, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

The government’s new local arrangements for overseeing schools are a pale shadow of what we need. A new regional architecture is being created to oversee England’s schools and we are beginning to see its outlines. Mostly, it’s made up of … Continue reading →

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Headteacher Board elections: excitement mounts

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Elections? This month? About education? With policies, candidates, proper voting and everything? Overseen by the electoral reform services? Cool! Yes, indeed, there are national elections taking place right now across England which will shape the education system in every part … Continue reading →

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Sixth forms working together against the tide

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Opening speech to the Sharing Good Practice conference at St.Angela’s school, Stratford, 4th June 2014. We are all here today because we are committed to providing the best possible educational opportunities to young people aged 16-18 and because we think … Continue reading →

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Market madness #2 “Choice and diversity”

Posted on June 1, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

A series of short posts about the marketisation of public education: #2 “Choice and diversity” “Choice and diversity” was the last government’s euphemism for marketisation in public services, putting a positive spin on something which is not particularly popular with … Continue reading →

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