Algorithm used for A-Levels and GCSEs should be scrapped Responding to reports that the exams regulator is reviewing its guidance on how to appeal A-level and GCSE grades using mock exam results, just hours after publishing it, Liberal Democrat Education Spokesperson Layla Moran said: Young people are being let down, and the confusion and uncertainty emanating from the Government is only making the situation worse. Things are getting ridiculous. There has been mistake after mistake after mistake with Gavin Williamson over the last few of months. The algorithm used for A-Level grades has clearly not worked and therefore should be ...
Diesel Trainride, made in 1959 by British Transport Films, shows the railways and society in transition. So people still dress in their best clothes to travel, but diesel multiple units are presented as excitingly modern. By the 1970s the ones from this era were showing their age, but I still miss the possibility of travelling in the front coach and seeing what the driver sees. The film's geography is a nonsense - our journey starts in East Anglia, only to take in the Newcastle to Carlisle line and end up in the Lake Distract - but there is much of ...
If Labour had won a few more seats in the election, could they have formed a government and what would it have been like?
Embed from Getty ImagesThis blog loves spin bowling - leg spin in particular. Back in the late 1980s I sent to see Sussex play at Derby just because they had a young Ian Salisbury in their side. And one of my more prophetic posts comes from 2006 when Adil Rashid made his debut for Yorkshire: Won't it be nice if yesterday turns out to have been an historic day in English cricket? Mind you, I also have a label for Mason Crane. Another Yorkshire leg spinner, Josh Poysden, has started a podcast to explore the art of slow bowling. He ...
Well, here we are again. I've reported on my vote in previous Lib Dem leadership elections in 2006, 2007, 2015 and 2019. I found it difficult to care as much this time round. The Lib Dems' catastrophic performance in last December's election and subsequent cratering in the polls perhaps make this the least important choice of the century. On the other hand, who knows? Perhaps the new leader will be able to generate a revival if the right choice is made. I have not met either candidate, though I vaguely know Layla Moran's father from Brussels circles. I voted against ...
In this post: Exam Results and Gradings Ianto Stevens explained how and why examiners moderate exam results to try to smooth out inconsistencies from year to year. Some of this was to compensate for variations in the difficulty of exam papers. The overall aim was to give the same balance of grades as in previous years. For example, suppose on a particular A Level physics paper, students across the country get markedly higher marks than in previous years. Examiners will assume that the students are of much the same ability as previous cohorts and that the variations are due to ...
Imagine working in a residential care home and seeing 17 residents die in 4 days. Yes, you are used to seeing people die but that's is the normal number for 10 -12 months. They've died in pain and unsupported by ... Continue reading →
Sat, 13:20: RT @CoNZealand: If you missed out on the Sir Julius Vogel Award voting packet the first time, we are pleased to announce that it is now ava... Sat, 16:39: RT @archer_rs: Overheard ten minutes ago at the boulangerie, two British women in the queue, "Bloody EU, they imposed a 14 day quarantine... Sat, 17:24: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest https://t.co/VqfPexPw1S Sat, 20:48: Tank Girl 25th anniversary: Rachel Talalay looks back at comic book adaptation https://t.co/3FN7UuL6yO Missed this great piece at the time. Sat, 21:55: RT @DoctorWho_BBCA: "You know the sound the TARDIS makes? That wheezing, groaning. That ...
Although a few years old now, this Tom Scott video is still a fun reminder of how TV interactivity used to work before the internet.
Many people holidaying in France were caught out by the announcement that a two-week quarantine would await them on their return if they arrived in the UK after 4am yesterday. As a result many paid huge amounts of money for transport options they could have got at a fifth of the price a few days early, to cut their vacation short and beat the deadline. Spare a thought though for those who booked their return tickets on the basis of an interview given by Transport Minister, Grant Shapps to Sky. As the Guardian reports, Shapps sowed confusion on Thursday night ...
Whilst I've always been a supporter of Nottinghamshire County Cricket Club (because I'm a Nott's lad) I have equally always had great affection for Lancashire (I've lived in the Lancs since the the age of 6) so the video linked below unsurprisingly caught my eye on You Tube:- www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxT6J0oxoaY Hearing David Lloyd talk about Lancashire's 3 greatest overseas players – Farokh Engineer, Clive Lloyd & Wasim Akram reminded me that Notts too had 3 similar greats – Gary Sobers, Clive Rice & Richard Hadlee. The demise of Nottinghamshire CCC with regard to 'Red Ball' cricket has been astonishing – They've ...
Don't miss out on your chance to register for our new shiny virtual conference at the early bird discounted rate of £30. The deadline is this Thursday and after that you will have to pay more. Federal Conference Committee were given a demo of the finalised version of the software this week and even the most normal cynical were, I understand, impressed. Scotland held a one day trial of the Hopin platform last month and, despite a few inevitable teething troubles, it worked well. The best advice I can give you is to make sure that you play around with ...
It's the question everyone is asking: "Where have the golden days all gone?" Golden Days is a track from the 2013 debut album by Belle Adair, an indie rock band from Alabama. Reviewing the album, The Brave and the Blue, the blog When You Motor Away... said: There's a sense of that British Invasion-meets-Southern soul thing that made bands like Big Star, R.E.M. and A.M.-era Wilco so enjoyable, although these guys tend to feature a bit more in the way of instrumental detours and some other interesting touches like electric piano and muted horns here and there. But like those ...
Sun 16th
08:30
Whoniversaries 16 August: Janet Henfrey, Robert Pugh, Rachel Talalay, Real Time #3, Gwen Cooper (?)
i) births and deaths 16 August 1935: birth of Janet Henfrey, who played Miss Hardaker in The Curse of Fenric (Seventh Doctor, 1989) and Mrs Pitt in Mummy on the Orient Express (Twelfth Doctor, 2014). 16 August 1950: birth of Robert Pugh, who played the aged Jonah in the 2008 Torchwood episode Adrift, and local villager Tony Mack in The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood (Eleventh Doctor, 2010). 16 August 1958: birth of Rachel Talalay, who directed all three Twelfth Doctor finales and the regeneration story Twice Upon a Time (2017). She is a source of much wisdom; my favourite story from ...
Residents may recall my recent Facebook article on 30th July expressing my concern and disappointment that, from the 1st August, the free TV licence for all over 75s was removed. Instead, the BBC has introduced a new scheme that offers free TV licence assistance to only some over 75 households. Dundee Volunteer and Voluntary Action has given some helpful advice about how to continue to get a free licence : "To be eligible, the licence holder must be 75 years or older and you, or your partner living at the same address, must be in receipt of Pension Credit. Pension ...
