Writings

The Sorcerer’s Apprentices

Check out this piece for the Guardian’s comment page tomorrow – but published already – on the move among today’s students towards apprenticeships. Continue reading…

Forming ideas

Below, an interview by Samantha Laurie  in November’s RIchmond magazine. Please click  Melissa layout to read. Continue reading…

In a very good cause…….

I will be hosting a fundraising evening on December 1st in aid of the Maya Centre, which provides therapy to low income women. The evening will feature some of our finest writers – Jill Dawson, Margaret Drabble, Helen Simpson and Sarah Waters – reading from their short story collections. Tickets selling fast. Please come along. Continue reading…

Richmond blues

Somehow, I think my appearance at the Richmond Literary Festival on November 25th is going to be my trickiest talk yet! A couple of weeks ago I did a long interview with Richmond magazine’s Samantha Laurie which is published this month here. The interview itself, and various follow up e-mail discussions, waas a veritable clash… Continue reading…

Toby Young helpfully clarifies ‘new school’ aims….

Free school founder Toby Young comes clean on real purpose of charter school experiment. Continue reading…

School Wars: round up of the reaction so far…………

Round up of reaction to School War by Melissa Benn Continue reading…

Interview on the New Schools Revolution…

…with an interesting website called New Left Direction. See what you think – a slightly different kind of interview. Continue reading…

Guess who dropped by?

Ed Miliband drops in to Melissa Benn’s signing for School Wars at Labour Party Conference 2011 Continue reading…

School Wars

What I have learned from the debate around my book so far…… Continue reading…

It’s hot out there…………

Very good Francis Beckett piece on debate at the RSA yesterday. Continue reading…