I am off to fresh woods and pastures new. I am in my eighteenth and final year as a secondary school head teacher. In September, for the first time in over three decades, I will not be a member of…
This much I know about…having the courage to be different from the rest
I am off to fresh woods and pastures new. I am in my eighteenth and final year as a secondary school head teacher. Tomorrow I begin my last half-term, having already completed 197 since my career began in 1988. In…
This much I now about…the day I met Nicklaus, Jacklin and Seve Ballesteros
I always wanted to be a professional golfer. In 1979 I had a week off school to caddy for my brother’s mate, Trevor, at the British Open Golf Championship at Royal Lytham & St Anne’s, just outside Blackpool. Trevor was…
This much I know about…how to develop the school curriculum and take everyone with you…(long read)
This is my fourth and final post on curriculum development. Here I propose a way of developing the curriculum which takes everyone with you, is user-friendly, is based upon sound principles, is academically aspirational and is focused upon developing teachers’…
This much I know about…two challenges facing school leaders when developing the curriculum
In this short series of posts I am exploring the issues surrounding curriculum design. In the first post I began with the role of the senior leader in the process of shaping the school curriculum and in the second post,…
This much I know about…educating senior school leaders about the curriculum so that they can support subject leaders with curriculum development
I have been thinking for some time about how senior leaders support our subject leaders in curriculum development. For instance, I line manage Modern Foreign Languages at Huntington School and we have a Subject Leader, Cherry Bailey, with a pretty…
This much I know about…defining the terms used to discuss the school curriculum
In this short series of posts I am exploring the issues surrounding curriculum design. In the first post I began with the role of the senior leader in the process of shaping the school curriculum: “So, when it comes to…
This much I know about…what school leaders should know about curriculum design
In 33 years of teaching I have taught subjects way outside my English literature specialism. I think the most challenging was attempting to teach the Level 2 GNVQ in Leisure & Tourism. I was, metaphorically, only ever one page ahead…
This much I know about…why Les Britanniques are all anglers now!
Last year I published An Angler’s Journal, my first foray into writing about fishing. You can buy a copy on Amazon by clicking the image below. A few weeks ago The Economist magazine advertised for a writer for their “Britain”…
This much I know about…two sentences by John Steinbeck
I have just finished Professor Stanley Fish’s, How to write a sentence and how to read one. It was a delight. Whilst I was reading it, I thought of two John Steinbeck sentences which I have always admired. Now feeling sufficiently…