Author: Tim Dracup

  • This the third in a series of genealogical posts about how Dracups from England established themselves in other parts of the world during the Nineteenth Century. Previous posts in the series have covered the arrival of Dracups in India and Canada. These were chronologically the earliest migrations, taking place in the late 1790s and late…

    Dracups emigrate to…the USA (#1)
  • . This is the second in a series of posts describing how Dracups from England established themselves in other parts of the world during the Nineteenth Century. Part two is about how one Dracup emigrated to Canada, so establishing a major branch of the family there. Part one was about the arrival of Dracups in India.…

    Dracups emigrate to…Canada
  • . I have developed, updated and corrected the material below in a subsequent post – A Dracup dynasty is founded in India – published in January 2017. . This is the first in a series of posts describing how Dracups from England established themselves in other parts of the world during the Nineteenth Century. Part…

    Dracups emigrate to…India
  • . This is the first in a series of occasional introspective mini-posts dedicated to exploring the question posed above. If I were you I wouldn’t bother to read such self-indulgent claptrap, though I suppose if you knew me better it might help you to understand. Dissecting my own personality in public is anathema, about as…

    Introvert or Aspie? (#1)
  • I’ve finally prevailed on my brother Mike to write a guest post. Because it looks so much better in full width I’ve uploaded it here, as a page in a new section of this blog called ‘Mike’s stuff’. It should appeal particularly to those with an interest in bass guitar and double bass design, as…

    Bass Ergonomics
  • . In April 2016 the Fair Education Alliance released its second annual report card. This post reviews progress against the five declared impact goals, as well as the recommendations for securing stronger progress in future. . What is the Fair Education Alliance? The Fair Education Alliance was launched by Teach First in June 2014. It…

    The Fair Education Alliance: A wasted opportunity?
  • .               . This post reviews fair access developments subsequent to publication of the HE green paper and preceding publication of the impending white paper. It asks whether some of the recommendations proffered by the Scottish Commission on Widening Access (COWA) should also be adopted in England. .  Developments…

    A blueprint for fair access?
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    Untitled post 611
  • . This short post anticipates the coverage of top-end differentiation in the imminent framework of core content for initial teacher training (ITT). . Background The Carter review of initial teacher training (ITT) (January 2015) dates from the last months of the Coalition Government. The first recommendation is that DfE should commission a sector body to…

    Differentiation in the ITT core content framework
  • . This post describes how three Dracup brothers moved southwards from Great Horton in the 1850s, settling in Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Bedfordshire. The three in question were sons of Eli Dracup (1799-1837) – Ephraim (1828-1888), Jonathan (1832-1878) and Eli (1837-1928). Eli is my great-great-grandfather. . The brothers’ parents The previous episode in this genealogical series…

    Dracups Head South!
  • . This brief post offers a preliminary assessment of provision for the most able in the 2016 schools white paper. . Background There was a little-noticed commitment in the Conservative Election Manifesto: ‘We will make sure that all students are pushed to achieve their potential and create more opportunities to stretch the most able.’ The statement…

    Education Excellence Everywhere for the most able
  • . This post explores tensions between the ‘excellence for all’ objective now underpinning national education policy and the proposed design of the national funding formula for schools. It is framed as an exploratory discussion document. If a convincing counter-argument emerges I am ready to adjust my views. . Setting the scene ‘Doing Differentiation Differently?’ mentioned…

    Will the national funding formula support ‘excellence for all’?
  • . This post traces the early history of Dracups resident in Great Horton, now part of Bradford in Yorkshire, England. It covers a period of just over a century, beginning around 1730 with the arrival of John Dracupp (1688-1767) and his young family and ending as great grandson Samuel Dracup (1793-1866) establishes himself as a…

    Dracups in Great Horton: From John Dracupp (1688-1767) to Samuel Dracup (1793-1866)
  • . . . .           .         . This post compares how we do differentiation with how it’s done elsewhere. It explores the tension within education policy between autonomy and pedagogical prescription through the ‘forensic analysis’ of recent ministerial speech content. It flags up the likelihood of further…

    Doing differentiation differently?
  • . This post assesses the progress of English Russell Group universities in admitting students from areas with low levels of higher education participation. It reapplies a methodology used previously by the Sutton Trust and the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission (SMCPC) to measure the success of these 20 universities in recruiting young, full-time first…

    The ‘Missing 520’
  • . This post:   Reviews the most recent statistical evidence of attainment gaps between disadvantaged high attainers and their peers. Questions why pupil premium is having no impact on these excellence gaps and Proposes action to close the gaps by raising attainment, so improving the life chances of these learners. .   Introduction I have…

    Why isn’t pupil premium closing excellence gaps?
  • . This post is mainly about Policy Exchange’s plans for ‘super-selective schools’, as proposed on Total Politics and reprised in Schools Week  . Digression It’s been a strange six months. Last July I officially retired the Gifted Phoenix Blog and the @GiftedPhoenix Twitter feed, leaving the former open access and converting the latter into a…

    Policy Exchange to the Rescue?
  • . This post casts a critical eye over the proposals for widening participation and fair access in the Higher Education Green Paper. It succeeds an earlier post – ‘Can we expect a rocket boost for fair access?’ (October 2015) – that discussed what was known of the Government’s intentions prior to publication. . Publication BIS…

Eponymous, better known as timdracup.com, contains long-form posts drafted by a real human being. Everything is free to read. I specialise in Dracup family history, British walking trails and literary book reviews. But you’ll also find writing about music, bereavement and much else besides.

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