Learning a brand new language is never easy. It feels daunting to think that almost every word in English has its foreign counterpart. Some words may have letters that need a diacritical. A word might change completely. And it’s never as simple as translating a sentence word for word. All of that binds together in […]
Month: November 2017
Gloucester is one of the worst places to be poor
Gloucester has been ranked 282nd out of 324 local authorities in England for social mobility, a study by the Social Mobility Foundation has discovered. The local authority ranks the lowest in Gloucestershire, below Stroud, Tewkesbury, Cheltenham and the Cotswolds. The ranking is based on life opportunities available to people born into disadvantaged backgrounds in all 324 […]
Ofsted tells kids to get a grip
A report on primary school classes by Ofsted has concluded that there is no clear curriculum for reception aged children. The study, which looked into 41 schools across the country from a varied range of areas, including Thrupp School in Gloucestershire, focused on how the reception year of primary school prepared children for Year 1. […]
The soaring cost of childcare
Working parents are struggling to pay for childcare as costs rise four times faster than wages. Childcare is now so expensive that families are better off if one parent gives up work to take full time care of their children. Since 2008, the average cost of childcare for an under two has risen by 49 […]
Has Baby Jesus finally grown up?
Is the traditional nativity now all about dancing camels and laughing lobsters? Fairies, Aliens, Elvis Presley and even recycling bins, this is how some schools do it. But here in Gloucestershire, they like to keep things traditional, with a snippet of dancing camels and laughing lobsters. Nicky Farrow, a teacher at Naunton Primary School said: “Sometimes […]
Opinion: Is sport enough of a priority at state schools?
Being a graduate of the state school system myself I always felt underwhelmed by the sporting opportunities I got at school. From year 7 to year 13 I was a member of the football, Rugby and Basketball teams. All three were severely underfunded and understaffed with there being only 4 PE teachers in my school. […]
You’re never too young to learn: How the University of Gloucestershire prepares the students of the future
At the University of Gloucestershire inspiring the next generation is a key part of their outreach program. The university send out their student ambassadors into local primary schools to give them a taste of what university is all about. The scheme was set up 8 years go and is aimed at primary school children within […]
“No one did anything” – How schools continue to push bullying into a corner
It’s something you hear about a lot in the mainstream media; mostly in movies. The protagonist is a nerd or a geek, and doesn’t seem to gel with the rest of the student body. They get picked on, pushed into lockers and make their lives a living hell. But, usually, said “nerd” would get a […]
How is the council helping children with special needs?
In the past five years, children with special needs in primary and secondary schools have increased. And due to this, schools in England are to receive a cash boost to help improve facilities for children with special educational needs and disabilities. The number of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) has increased from 1,228,785 in […]
Education: Is education at home the best for children?
People say school is the best time of your life. The conventional 9-3 day of a pupil in primary school is not necessarily the only option if you want to get your child the best education possible. 57% of parents across England, Wales and Northern Ireland now home school their children. Almost a thousand children […]