We constantly read about celebrities behaving badly, issuing diva-like demands and having mega strops when things don’t suit them. So it was refreshing to read a piece by Jeremy Vine (currently strutting his stuff on Strictly) that revealed the sweet nature of his fellow contestant Peter Andre. I’m probably the only person in the land who has never watched Strictly (I’m an X Factor girl myself) and I have to ...keep reading
I’ve worked as a freelance education journalist for years, interviewing heads and teachers, eating rather a lot of school dinners and writing about the inspiring work schools are doing. I got into it in the first place because I spent a year or so teaching at an FE college myself and quickly realised that it’s one of the hardest and most demanding jobs there is. Ten years later, having seen hundreds of teachers ...keep reading
Bill Bryson is one of my heroes. He writes like a dream, explains complicated stuff in the most entertaining way and seems like an all-round lovely man. I never drive through the Yorkshire Dales without thinking of the “Malhamdale wave” he described in Notes from a Small Island. We lived in North Yorkshire for three years and while everyone was incredibly welcoming I knew we’d have to live there for at ...keep reading
When I’m not reviewing books, writing novels or blogging, I have a day job as an education journalist. My children have never been keen on me being clued up about key stage 3, phonics and schemes of work, but they’ve had to put up with it. And it’s endlessly fascinating. One week I’m writing about apprenticeships, the next I’m interviewing the head master of Eton (one of the most impressive ...keep reading
My sophisticated student daughter hates to admit it but she liked everything about her North Yorkshire primary school, from the home corner and golden time to skipping in the playground and dressing up as her favourite book character. I loved taking her into the classroom every morning (she banned me from venturing past the school gate once she reached the heady heights of year 2), having a chat with her ...keep reading
When I went slightly mad a few years ago and decided to try my hand at teaching (I was useless), the main thing that made me throw in the towel was the endless paperwork. For every lesson I taught at my local FE college, I had to fill in reams and reams of forms. There were the schemes of work to plan out lessons for the whole of the academic ...keep reading