Features Team | Schools Week

Dan Moynihan, chief executive, Harris Federation

Dan Moynihan is the much mythologised £400,000-a-year chief executive of the much mythologised Harris Federation, an academy trust with a history of aggressive takeovers and an unbelievable record of never receiving less than a “good” judgment in its Ofsted inspections, no matter how tricky the school before he managed it. He is also smiley, personable, […]

Harry Fletcher-Wood’s top blogs 12 September 2016

Guest reviewer Harry Fletcher-Wood takes us through this week’s best education blogs. Five things every new secondary teacher (should) know about reading By David Didau Let’s start back with something practical, theoretical and thoroughly helpful. David Didau has written a series of recent posts that whittle his extensive experience down to five principles. I’d […]

James Townsend, director, CofE Foundation for Educational Leadership

James Townsend is the very model of a modern religious millennial. White, male, under-30, posh-sounding with a fancy job title, he has the stereotypical trappings of privilege and the wide-eyed enthusiasm of youth. He also hates being portrayed like this. He calls it the “That Guy” problem. “I just detest being that guy . . […]

Change in maths A-level specification requires students to buy costly calculators

A change in the A-level maths specification that forces students to fork out an extra £10 for an advanced calculator is a “positive step” for the subject, says Charlie Stripp, director of the National Centre for Excellence in the Teaching of Mathematics. He said that using these calculators “massively outweighs the increase in cost” and […]

Professor Dame Alison Peacock appointed CEO of the Chartered College of Teaching

Professor Dame Alison Peacock, executive headteacher of The Wroxham School in Hertfordshire, has been appointed as the first chief executive officer (CEO) of the Chartered College of Teaching. Peacock will assume the role from January 1, 2017 and will act as CEO designate until that time. Reporting to the board of trustees, she will provide leadership […]

Northern Education Trust hit with pre-warning notice for three academies

A pre-warning notice letter has been issued to the Northern Education Trust, due to “unacceptably low” standards of performance at North Shore, The Blyth and Thomas Hepburn Academies. The Trust was sent the letter on March 11, 2016 by Vicky Beer (pictured left), regional schools commissioner for Lancashire and West Yorkshire, and details of the […]

Religious studies GCSE hits highest entry numbers in 14 years

Entries to religious studies GCSEs have jumped to the highest number since 2002, showing the subject continues to attract young people despite its exclusion from the English Baccalaureate (Ebacc) performance measure. The latest numbers show an increase from 295,730 total UK entries last year to 296,010 this year. The rise is particularly significant in the context […]

GCSE A*-C pass rate drops sharply

The 2016 GCSE results are out and show a sharp fall of 2.1 percentage points in the pass rate, down to 66.9 per cent for A*-C grades. The number of A* grades alone declined by 0.1 percentage points and A*-A grades fell by 0.7 to 20.5 per cent. The drop has been linked to the […]