Author: Tim Dracup
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. The devil squirms, the angel mocks Their cruel sniggers prise her face about While she squats athwart the thunderbox. Upon the desiccated dust heap cocks Strut the light fantastic. Black as stout The devil squirms, the angel mocks. A wrinkled, lissom postman knocks Now her bolt is shot. The rustling spout While…
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. Several of my recent educational posts have mentioned the new-found commitment to ‘educational excellence everywhere’. This was the title selected for the March 2016 white paper, but it is also the strategic goal at the heart of this government’s education policy. It should influence every part of the white paper, informing every educational decision…
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. This post compares white paper plans to strengthen fair access with the proposals set out in the green paper. It assesses each element of these plans and whether they amount to a convincing national strategy. It also considers whether the white paper is likely to bring about a much-needed improvement in the recruitment of…
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. Ofqual is attempting a double-U-turn on how to define grade 9 in the new GCSE scale. This will affect the highest attaining learners in all our schools, all staff who teach them and all those who rely on GCSE grades to select high-attaining students, including university admissions staff. It also has implications for the performance…
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. This post examines ministerial targets for improving England’s educational performance by 2020, as measured by international comparisons studies. It explores the evolution of these targets, how they might be interpreted and the prospects for achieving them given likely outcomes from the next round of reports, scheduled for publication in December 2016/2017. PISA 2015 results…
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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…
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. 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.…
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. 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…
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. 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…
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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…
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. 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…
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. . 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…
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. 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…
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. 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…
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. 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…
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. 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…
Eponymous 