Alistair Smith

Stress. How much is too much?

2012-04-13T10:35:46+01:00April 13th, 2012|English, leadership|

One possible solution? Like most teachers, I'll be back at school on Monday and already I've got the heeby jeebies. Apart from all the usual planning and preparation, controlled assessment folders for the new GCSE specification need final moderation. Every English department is in the same position; this is our first run through with new marking criteria and so much is riding on us getting these marks right. There can be no mistakes. I know I'm not the only one to be feeling the pressure at the moment. The new watchword in education is 'accountability'. If students don't make [...]

High Performers

2012-03-04T13:50:15+00:00March 4th, 2012|leadership, learning|

The postman delivered High Performers - The Secrets of Successful Schools by Alistair Smith this week. For anyone who's not read it, the book contains bucket loads of wisdom and tons of practical advice on every single page. To tell the truth, I feel a little breathless about all the good stuff contained therein. Alistair took it upon himself to visit 20 high performing schools up and down the land and try to distill what it is that makes them successful. Predictably, he found that there is no 'one size fits all' silver bullet which can make schools outstanding but he has [...]

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