31 July 2009 09:38
Latest news from the Organ of Obvious Educational Research (OOER): apparently girls are quicker learners than boys. Who'd have guessed it? Er, every teacher and parent on planet Earth. Boys did win in three areas, though - maths, new technology and building...
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29 July 2009 09:09
Well, the knee op is over and I'm in a fair bit of pain. The surgeon found some additional damage and may have to do a second operation to remove a miniscus ligament. But the care I received from everyone at the hospital was wonderful. They're probably...
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27 July 2009 08:22
Apologies for digressing from my education brief, but today I'm having a cruciate ligament reconstruction (a la Gazza and Michael Owen, but minus the talent....) So after 17 years of fielding calls from angry readers who've had bad experiences of the...
posted by Steve Downes with
23 July 2009 10:42
So, teachers get one-third of the year off for hols, can retire before they are at death's door (unlike the rest of us) and get a decent final salary pension. But that's not enough. Now it looks as if the children are going to have this summer holiday...
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15 July 2009 11:44
I'm a couple of days off the pace with this, but it's an issue that is close to my heart. Government says it wants to attract more men into primary schools because (you don't say?) children need more male role models. When I go into my local school to...
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10 July 2009 12:23
I use the bus to get from Cromer to Norwich and back for work each day. I've long wondered how to avoid having someone sitting next to me. Some opt for the ignorant practice of leaving their bag on the seat next to them. Some stare wildly ahead, unblinking,...
posted by Steve Downes with
09 July 2009 12:06
Single-sex schools are an endangered species in Norfolk. Last year, we had five. From September, there's be only Norwich High School for Girls offering single-sex ed all the way through, with Hethersett Old Hall School offering girls only from 11-18....
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08 July 2009 15:53
I know this sounds like a headline on a junkmailing that lands on your doorstep, but apparently the government really is considering free courses. The idea is to offer them to young people who want to stay at home, rather than get digs and live on a diet...
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07 July 2009 15:29
A Norfolk high school (which will remain nameless until it gets in Thursday's EDP and Evening News) has put some Big Brother-style cameras in a toilet block to beat the vandals. Am I wrong to feel a little uneasy about this?
It'll probably stop the vandalism,...
posted by Steve Downes with
04 July 2009 08:10
Managed to get the day off for sports day for my youngest boys, Ezekiel and Noah. They're in various events - running (the real thing), hurdles (visions of tumbles and scraped shins) and skipping (girl thing). Can't wait to watch it all unfold. Not the...
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03 July 2009 15:56
Experts think tuition fees will increase from £3,200 a year to maybe £7,000 after the government review this year. Next year, whatever happens with the review, tuition fees will go up 2.04pc - but student grants and loans will stay as they are. No jobs...
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02 July 2009 16:01
Coming to the end of a typical mixed bag of a day. Interviewed County Hall officers for a story on how the introduction of a "virtual school" for Norfolk 840 kids in care has helped their GSCE results to rocket. Then sweatily squelched across...
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01 July 2009 13:15
Just found out I'm going to be meeting Keith Chapman, the Norfolk-born man behind Bob the Builder and other kids' TV shows. Must thank him for contributing to many hours of peace and quiet when my children were little in the early 21st century. When the...
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