The year 2025 marks both the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, and the 30th anniversary of the genocide at Srebrenica. Separated by half a century, the events in Bosnia remind us that ‘never again’ did happen again. So what do we do about this? I write this piece whilst returning home from an … Continue reading 80/30 Commemoration: May Grievance Become Hope
Blogs
HEAL Careers for Boys
The author advocates for promoting HEAL careers—health, education, administration, and literacy—to boys, similar to the encouragement given to girls for STEM careers. This initiative aims to address gender bias and improve narrative on masculinity, emphasizing the societal benefits of a balanced workforce and calling for public debate and awareness.
Teaching African History
For Black History Month, this post is a primer for teaching a greater range of African history in the curriculum.
Misunderstood: ADHD through the eyes of a 17-year-old
This is an anonymous guest blog. It was a coursework essay by a school pupil who was 17 years old at the time, and it was shared with me by their parent who is also a good friend. This parent is aware of the work I have done in partnership with the ADHD Foundation on … Continue reading Misunderstood: ADHD through the eyes of a 17-year-old
researchED Aberdeen 2024 Slides
You can access my slides on Low Cost, High Impact Professional Learning from researchED Aberdeen (11th May, 2024) here. low-cost-high-impact-pl-robin-macpherson-redaberdeen-24Download
Walking in Two Worlds: the Māori Education Renaissance
I recently spent two weeks in New Zealand on a school trip, which allowed me to learn a lot more about a system that I’ve heard a lot about. I read a fair amount of the work of the globally renowned academic Helen Timperley, Professor Emeritus at the University of Auckland, when I did my … Continue reading Walking in Two Worlds: the Māori Education Renaissance
Nurturing Inclusive CPD Events
This is a guest blog by Sanum J Khan who you can follow on Twitter at @Sanumjkhan. Sanum is a an Assistant Headteacher and frequently speaks at events and writes articles for the education press on a range of issues, especially diversity, equity and inclusion. She is speaking at the 13th Festival of Education this summer. … Continue reading Nurturing Inclusive CPD Events
A Summer of Festivals Part III: EduFest Le Rosey
The third and final instalment of this series is about EduFest at Institut Le Rosey in Switzerland, which debuted in 2019 and was back in 2022 after a COVID-enforced hiatus. It’s a start-up which has huge potential, bringing together educators from across Europe every two years. From what I saw, it has a bright future. … Continue reading A Summer of Festivals Part III: EduFest Le Rosey
A Summer of Festivals Part II: Friday at #EducationFest
The second day of the Festival of Education saw equal amounts of sunshine and political debate given that Boris (finally) resigned so there was a real buzz about the place. I managed to fit in sessions on classroom practice, social mobility, coaching and the BAMEed strand, so there was no rest for the wicked… Nicholas … Continue reading A Summer of Festivals Part II: Friday at #EducationFest
A Summer of Festivals Part I: Thursday at #EducationFest
After moving online during the pandemic, the Festival of Education at Wellington College was back on site and in person for 2022. It also moved date, coming in early July rather than late June, and that had no adverse impact on attendance or interest. With around 400 speakers and over 5,000 attendees over the two … Continue reading A Summer of Festivals Part I: Thursday at #EducationFest
On sightseeing, and getting lost.
A tribute to my father-in-law, Dr Ansar Skandary. Unusually, this piece is not about my professional life, but my personal life. It was driven by a desire to put something into words for my own children. Unlike my professional blogs it will not be actively advertised or shared, but will just sit here waiting for … Continue reading On sightseeing, and getting lost.
The Danish Way of Life 2: Sport and Physical Activity
This is the second blog about a visit to Denmark to learn about education and the provision of sport and physical activity. The first blog is about the school system and provides more context for this piece. https://videopress.com/v/obMWddEO?resizeToParent=true&cover=true&preloadContent=metadata&useAverageColor=true 5,700 teenagers performing at Landsstævne, in Svendborg. For the past two years I’ve been investigating the future … Continue reading The Danish Way of Life 2: Sport and Physical Activity
The Danish Way of Life 1: the Education System
I’ve just come back from a visit to Denmark, and my intention was to blog about what I learned about the education system there. In fact, it was such a productive visit that I’ve had to divide it into two parts. Here’s the first instalment, and it focuses on the education system and what we … Continue reading The Danish Way of Life 1: the Education System
COP26 and Education: Change in the Making
In a few days’ time, Scotland will play host to COP26. The eyes of the world will be on Glasgow, and the conference has been discussed in terms of being a last chance opportunity to create the change needed for human life on this planet to be sustainable. What is meant by sustainable development needs … Continue reading COP26 and Education: Change in the Making
Beginning the World Over Again
I was encouraged to write this by Jill Berry and Lena Carter, who both wrote excellent reflective blogs recently that show why they’re two of the most important voices in education, and are people that I respect greatly (links are at the end). It’s been far too long since I wrote something for my own … Continue reading Beginning the World Over Again
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