CEO of @AxiomMaths, raising the next generation of mathematicians. OBE for services to education. Former headteacher and DfE advisor.
Joined November 2010
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Big well done and thank you to Ed Southall and team for bringing BCME back. An amazing gathering of mathematics educators.
It’s really hard to achieve parity of esteem if we justify vocational education as an alternative option for those who aren’t doing well academically.
Vocational education should be justified on its own merits. It should compete with academic for children who could do either.
We've all heard someone say 'school wasn't really for me’.
And we should think about why that is. Our system is set up to reward young people who thrive in academic subjects and exams, but what about those who learn best by getting stuck in and doing things?
Too often they're left behind.
So we’re introducing new vocational GCSEs - proper, nationally recognised qualifications giving young people practical, hands-on learning that they can study alongside Maths, English and Science.
And we’re creating 200,000 more work experience opportunities, so every teenager gets the chance to experience the world of work before they leave school.
A one-size fits all approach simply doesn't work - I want to build an education system that values both academic and technical paths and gives all young people hope that their future will be brighter, whether it starts at university or not.
The maths nerd in me is very excited about today’s breakthroughs. The teacher in me wants to tell these people to behave. This is not how you win the public’s trust.
When Bell Labs were smashing through science did it feel to the academic community like it does with maths and the big labs now?
As usual, @timleunig is absolutely right here. English success in education is due to a consistent policy direction over decades, where each government has built on what worked under the last.
All three parties in England share responsibility for our education success. Labour's Jim Callaghan first PM to give a speech on education, Conservative Ken Baker with the knowledge rich curriculum, and GCSEs not O levels/CSEs, Labour's @Andrew_Adonis with academies and 1/3
Or in other words, the world is getting stupider almost everywhere except for England. In an age of AI this either doesn't matter at all (intelligence is cheap) or it's a total gamechanger (we can invent and create faster and better than anyone else).
England is now the 10th best country in the world for mathematics. The only countries outside of East Asia to beat us were Estonia and Switzerland. We as a country owe our maths teachers (which includes all primary teachers!) a huge well done and thank you.
Before finishing, I should acknowledge the caveats about the data. In particular, because there was no KS2 data for this cohort, we can't estimate the non-response bias and so don't know what bias is present.
This is a good challenge by @Suchmo83, arguing that I'm idealistic to think that schools can just have a "picky eater" option. I think he's right that this is important enough that government should set better standards and then back schools to implement them.
