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25 April 2026

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Opinion

Let’s subvert the ‘centres of excellence’ policy

Following Schools Week’s revelation that the government will allow MATs internally to select pupils by ability, Ros McMullen suggests trusts be creative in how they do this. Last week Schools Week ran a front-page story about the possibility of selective grammar schools developing within multi-academy trusts (MATs) without the need for any legislation. The new […]

Reputation matters: How to do PR as a school

Issues management should be as much a part of forward planning in schools and trusts as the annual prospectus, says Elin de Zoete. Many moons ago business magnate Warren Buffett said: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation, and five minutes to ruin it”… and that was before the days of lightning-quick social media. […]

The mystery of the disappearing education secretary

As another party conference season ebbs away, this is usually the part where I write a column about the education secretary. For the past two years I spent the Conservative conference at fringe events stalking Nicky Morgan – turning up at the parties she was at, springing questions on her during debates – and taking […]

Who was the first politician to announce the end of grammar schools?

The common belief is that it was Labour education secretary Anthony Crosland. He sent out a circular in 1965 to local authorities urging them to end selective schools in their area. (Note “urge” not “order” as many people think.) But there is a part of the story missing. Because it was actually the Conservative education […]

Multi-Academy Trusts could be the saviour of education in the north

Successful trusts need to leave their cosy London bubble if education in the north is to improve, says Jonathan Booth. The difference between deprived secondary schools in the north and south is stark. Ofsted called this a “postcode lottery” in its annual report for 2014-15, adding: “What we are seeing is nothing short of a […]

Business rates revaluation: what schools need to know

In what has been billed as the biggest change in a generation, the process of the 2017 business rates revaluation is well under way. Richard Farr considers what schools need to know – and how they are likely to be impacted. What are business rates? Business rates are a tax payable on non-domestic buildings, including […]

FGM is child abuse and schools need to talk about it

Every school leader should be aware of the issues of female genital mutilation, says Hibo Wardere. Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a subject many adults feel uncomfortable discussing, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The young people I speak to don’t share the same reticence. I spend most of my week talking with […]

Grammar schools are a symptom not a cure

The design of the schools system requires that failure exists somewhere. Ed Cadwallader says the only fix is a broader curriculum that gives every child a chance to succeed and when knowledge itself is seen as more important than grades. It has been heartening to see educators usually at odds with one another unite in […]

How selection could – and probably will – seep back in

“There is no way they will get this grammar school thing through.” That’s what former shadow education secretary Lucy Powell said at a debate on Sunday. It’s a comforting thought, but I’m not buying. Governments tend to do what they want, regardless of the administrative hurdles placed in their way. Michael Gove used the Terrorism […]