Midway through my pruning session I realise I am cutting the wisteria up into really neat pieces. I mean, seriously neat. Each branch is carefully chopped into three and then placed in a garden waste bag. I do the same with the ceanothus until I have filled both my regulation green bags. Then I stand
‘Every job we do starts by listening to you.’ I stand staring at this sign for a long time as I queue at St George’s Hospital, Tooting. The waiting area of the X-ray unit is like the easyJet check-in zone at Gatwick when they’ve just cancelled a flight to Alicante. No, that’s not right. It’s
May God forgive me, but I paid the fine. I couldn’t fight them any more. Wearily, shamefully, I picked up the phone and dialled. ‘Good afternoon. Welcome to the London Borough of Lambeth. Your life may be ruined for quality and training purposes. Please press the star key on your keypad if you have any
A day in London for the launch of my new report ‘The Shale Gas Shock’, published by the Global Warming Policy Foundation. I argue that shale gas calls the bluff of the renewable energy movement in the same way that genetically modified crops called the bluff of the organic farming movement. Just as GM allows
‘I’m told you’re the one to watch,’ Julian Assange says when I introduce myself in the Green Room. ‘Likewise,’ I reply. We’re backstage at Kensington Town Hall on a sunny Saturday afternoon to debate the ethics of whistleblowing. The seats sold out in minutes and the audience, almost all young, female or both, are clearly
Less than a week after explaining in words of one syllable that we were broke, I saw my husband’s hand held high above his head at a charity auction. I assumed it was the gesture of a drowning man; but the auctioneer took it as a bid and the gavel fell. We, whose outgoings exceed
We all know that private education can be terrifyingly expensive. Yet for parents not possessed of a vast fortune, there are ways of affording it. Scholarships and bursaries are more common than you might think, and your child doesn’t necessarily have to be a genius to get one. Here, we list some of the best
Top boys’ boarding schools by A-level results Rank % A/B School Day fees Board fees No. pupils 1 99.4 St Paul’s School, London £17,928 £26,562 1,291 2 98 Westminster School £20,364 £29,406 747 3 96.2 Eton College – £29,862 1,314 4 96.2 Tonbridge School, Kent £22,335 £29,913 764 5 93.3 Harrow School – £29,670 810
It may be said that there are things of more importance than striking a ball against a wall — there are things indeed which make more noise and do as little good, such as making war and peace, making speeches, and answering them, making verses, and blotting them; making money and throwing it away. It
It may not be widely played, but this is a great sport for everyone, says Freddy Gray Fives is not a popular sport. In fact, if the internet is to be believed, no more than 4,000 people play it in Britain, with a scattering of die-hard enthusiasts abroad. But then very few people have ever
Claire Gasgoine asks Brewin Dolphin’s Simon Blowey how parents and grandparents can meet the frightening cost of education Education maketh man, according to the philosopher John Locke. But these days, education can also maketh the man’s parents very poor indeed. With large school fees increases and the removal of the cap on university tuition fees,
You may leave school but it never leaves you, says J.R.H. McEwen – the character formed by a fine education is instantly recognisable For several reasons unconnected with the merits or otherwise of the place itself, when I left school 27 years ago (crikey!), I was glad to leave and expected never to return. Unlike
I went to Sherborne in January 1954. The first view I had of my housemaster was at the TC inspection parade held on the first day of every term. TC stood for tinea cruris or ‘crotch-worm’, an infection which boys were thought to be prone to during the holidays. Col H.F.W. ‘Hughie’ Holmes moved down the line of boys,
I’ve always found Britain’s education system bewildering. Our public schools are private; our church schools take the children of committed atheists; and ‘distance learning’ happens at home. My old school, Bradford Grammar School (BGS), is not a ‘grammar school’ in the way most people would imagine. It is a member of the Headmasters’ Conference and it charges fees. That a
The first time I heard of a crammer school I assumed it was a 16th-century foundation by Thomas Cranmer, the former Archbishop of Canterbury, where boys walked about the cloisters in long cloaks with copies of the Book of Common Prayer stuffed under their arms. I guess we didn’t take revision quite so seriously in
Few words now carry such tiresome connotations as ‘Eton’. Although the Prime Minister and some of his closest colleagues are Etonians, the British press considers it a dreadful disadvantage to have been educated there, especially if one wants to go into politics. This prejudice has seldom been challenged since Iain Macleod’s ‘magic circle’ article appeared
Our independent schools have a proud tradition of cricket — and cricket grounds.Former England batsman (and Old Tonbridgian) Ed Smith picks his favourites The excellence of the cricket grounds of England’s independent schools is a double-edged privilege. On the one hand, they are some of the most beautiful grounds on which to play and watch
Any parent would want to see a school before sending their child there, says Hilaire Gomer – but not everyone makes the most of their visits Prospective parents have to visit the schools to which they’re interested in sending their offspring. Now this is fine if it’s just one or two and they’re not too
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Any parent wanting their child to take the International Baccalaureate should be warned: the workload is going to be heavy. Prepare to hear your child whine about extended essays, and how their friends doing A-levels have it much easier. The International Baccalaureate, or IB, requires pupils to take six main subjects alongside a mandatory course