universities

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Meraud: The only important thing, in the end, is to pull down the ‘wall in the mind’ and then help a child run with whatever they see beyond it. Good private schools do it with money, but I don’t believe that’s the only way.

The child of left-wing Oxbridge-educated parents (one of whom went to Holland Park...), I went to a very ordinary, run-down, unhappy 'comprehensive' during the mid-80s, when teachers' strikes were pretty ubiquitous. It was an ex-secondary modern, with many of the same teachers still there, and the narrow worldview and poverty of aspiration was tangible. It was a long way from ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "I don't know if you've worked through situations where staff are a barrier to students applying Tabbers. The actual reasons there are barriers are not so simple as 'inverted snobbery'. Different staff tend to have different personal reasons ......"

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Francis Gilbert: Academics and teachers, have you met?

Reform would be smoother and more effective if you worked together, says Francis Gilbert in the TES Earlier this month, education secretary Michael Gove said that top academics should reform our A-level system, implying that only the elite Russell Group universities can stop the chronic "dumbing down" going on in our sixth forms. His announcement was on top of a survey ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by Rebecca Hanson: "One of the best forums where schools, and politicians tend to discuss issues are WEF consultations, where people meet, friendships are forged and lengthy dialogues often begin. More about WEF here: https://www.ncetm.org.uk/community/thread/97905..."

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Francis Gilbert: New research shows that deprived children do better in poor boroughs than in richer ones

A new think-thank, The Centre For London, published some interesting research today which shows that poorer students do less well at getting into university if they go to school in a richer borough. The research also finds that, in some poorer boroughs, students from the poorest neighborhoods actually do better than their wealthier peers at getting into university. The report illustrates how successful ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by botzarelli: "I'm going to have to read the report because the account given of it doesn't support the headline. There is a difference between the "poverty penalty" and the outcomes for deprived children that isn't remarked upon. Even if a deprived child ......"

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Fiona Millar: Simon Hughes needs to take a more nuanced approach to university access

I think I am going to enjoy Simon Hughes period as the university access Tsar.  He so desperately wants to brand himself as a progressive firebrand that he can’t help shooting from the hip, then he invariably rows back and doesn’t quite deliver ( ie fulminating, then abstaining and not voting against the hike in tuition fees). His appointment will probably ... read more and comment →

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Latest comment by deb lewis: "Surely the prospect of Oxbridge quotas (ignoring the most deprived schools) fails to address the fact that there are huge gaps between the top private schools and the average ones. Any parent with any intelligence and access to a good ......"

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