Author: Tim Dracup
-
This was my contribution to Kate’s funeral service, which took place at Kingston Cemetery and Crematorium on 31 July 2017: . I first met Kate at university in October 1979. She was 18; I was 20. We each had lots of red hair. We drank beer, went to many gigs together and became firm friends.…
-
Kate Dracup (nee Jones) was born on 4 July 1961. We were married on 15 October 1994. She died on 13 July 2017 at the age of 56. I miss her badly.
-
. This is the story of a young submariner, a stoker on board HMS Stratagem, who was killed during the Second World War. Derek Dracup was a very distant relation of mine – a sixth cousin I believe – but his untimely death has haunted me since I first found him in my family tree.…
-
. This extended post investigates resurgent interest in specialist maths schools, as displayed by the Tories under Theresa May. It: Discusses developments during the first half of 2017, foregrounding the May Government’s draft industrial strategy, its spring budget and the Tories’ 2017 election manifesto. Reviews the difficult history of 16-19 specialist maths free schools, beginning…
-
. Summary This post explores the emerging definition of learners from ‘ordinary working families’ and the evidence published to date about their educational performance and how well they are served in the education system. It examines how learners from ordinary working families (hereafter referred to as ‘OWF learners’) fit within the broader visions for social…
-
. This extended post challenges the argument that all learners can be high attainers. It sets out the various strands of this argument, highlighting the weaker links and illustrating them with the assistance of two case studies, both branded school improvement strategies. It uses PISA 2015 data to demonstrate that none of the world’s leading…
-
. Brighton College to clone the London Academy of Excellence, a selective 16-19 free school, in every opportunity area https://t.co/xpfM9Hfyyo — Tim Dracup (@TimDracup) April 1, 2017 . .
-
There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.
-
. This short post outlines problems with ‘most able education’ – and what needs to change to bring about national improvement. The broad premiss is that, following a period in which comparatively prescriptive, centralised, top-down programmes were de rigeur, the English education sector has become wedded to a market-driven philosophy and ‘school-led system-wide improvement’. But…
-
. …Or ‘An exercise in policy design’. . This post considers proposals emerging for new selective schools that would select on the basis of ability or attainment and socio-economic disadvantage. It covers the following ground: The context provided by the selection green paper and the Opportunity Areas policy. Recent Advocacy for ‘pupil premium grammar schools’…
-
. This post investigates the practice of introducing selective grammar streams into comprehensive schools. It: Reviews recent advocacy for this practice. Distinguishes grammar streams from other, related approaches to within-school selection. Urges revision of the official distinction between ability and aptitude, based on the erroneous position taken by the School Adjudicator. Places grammar streams in…
-
. This post compiles some of the most recent and telling statistics about the state of high attainment in England. It includes a brief summary of the policy position as it stands ahead of the government’s response to the selection green paper. Finally it outlines a ten point improvement plan which does not involve building…
-
. This post deals mainly with the life of John Wright Sandford Dracup (1857-1911) and several other third-generation Dracups living and working in India during the second half of the Nineteenth Century. It includes material about their wives and families, so venturing into the fourth generation and featuring John’s eldest son – the splendidly named…
-
This post is about the formation of a Dracup dynasty in Nineteenth Century India. It updates some of the material in a previous post – Dracups emigrate to…India (April 2016) – correcting errors and adding further detail derived from subsequent research. More specifically, it: Revisits some details in the life of Isaac Dracup (c.1770-1835), the…
-
Originally posted on Gifted Phoenix: https://twitter.com/ProfCoe/status/532827085564575744 https://twitter.com/profstig/status/532865591288164352 I had been intending never to revisit the difficult topic of setting, secure in the knowledge that I could not improve on my earlier treatment of the pros and cons. Irrelevant picture of Norway by Gifted Phoenix But recent developments have caused me to reconsider, led me to…
-
. This post investigates what PISA 2015 results reveal about: Progress towards the government’s 2020 national performance targets; and Trends in the comparative performance of England’s high attainers. It complements a parallel post about the TIMSS 2015 results – Troubling TIMSS trends (December 2015). . About PISA The results of the 2015 Programme for International…
-
. This post reassesses Progress against the government’s national performance targets and The comparative performance of England’s high attaining pupils following publication of the TIMSS 2015 international comparisons study. . About TIMSS The results of the 2015 Trends in Maths and Science Study (TIMSS) were published at the end of November 2016. TIMSS is a…
Eponymous 