Tag Archives: Education

Oxbridge applicants shouldn’t despair if they did not “get in” this week. For me, Balliol was an academic cul-de-sac

Over the next few days thousands of young people will  be watching their doormats, and email inboxes, with dread. From January 7th onwards Cambridge University – and from January 9th onwards Oxford – will be letting applicants know if they … Continue reading

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Labour can take pride in its school rebuilding programme. Even if this one was finished nine years behind schedule  

Last Monday (November 3rd) I was at the grand opening of the John Roan School in Blackheath (the school lies in the ward I represented as a councillor until May 2014, and I used to be a governor there). Despite the big … Continue reading

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The new University faculty is the best thing built in Greenwich for decades. Critics should be careful what they wish for

There’s a paradox about development in Greenwich (the town, not the borough) in the last 15 years. Schemes that commanded near-universal support when they were first proposed (the glass bubble around the Cutty Sark, which makes it look like its … Continue reading

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We should applaud Michael Gove’s departure – and understand why he lasted so long

Twenty years ago, as a student, I spent a couple of weeks doing work experience at the Times and met Michael Gove, then an up-and-coming Leader writer. I was – and arguably still am – a complete nobody and Gove … Continue reading

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