This week
7-13 APRIL 2012
SATURDAY
A call to arms
The annual NUT and NASUWT conferences were in full swing, with teachers complaining about, well, anything ministers want to do. An NUT delegate said it was time to topple the government in an Arab Spring-style uprising.
SUNDAY
Crowded at the top
A-level students will be given a ranking as well as a grade under proposals drawn up by Cambridge Assessment, The Sunday Times reported. The move follows complaints that it is hard to distinguish between top students.
MONDAY
Losing our religion
Newspapers reported the Archbishop of Canterbury’s warnings that RE is being downgraded. Rowan Williams used his last Easter message to criticise the decision not to include it in the English Baccalaureate.
TUESDAY
So long, santorum
Religious conservative Rick Santorum pulled out of the race to become the Republican candidate for US president. It now looks like it will be a fight between President Obama and Mitt Romney for the White House.
WEDNESDAY
Cutting remarks
Want to be a hairdresser? Pupils should be careful which teachers they tell, as some will “deride” them for wanting to pursue an apprenticeship in a beauty salon rather than stay on at school, Ofsted said.
THURSDAY
Out of this world
A big day for space boffins, with the anniversary of both the first human space flight, made 51 years ago by Yuri Gagarin, and the first Nasa shuttle launch, which took place 20 years later.
FRIDAY
Literary line-up
Former children’s laureate Michael Rosen and Andy Stanton, writer of the Mr Gum books, are among those appearing at the Cambridge Wordfest, starting today. The event also includes sessions for grown-ups.
NEXT WEEK
14-20 APRIL 2012
SATURDAY
Make your weekend count
Try not to panic. Only two days of the holiday left and you almost certainly have any amount of lesson planning and bureaucracy left to undertake. It may even be worth taking a peek at your emails.
SUNDAY
Don’t tell him, Pike!
The 30th anniversary of the death, aged 66, of Arthur Lowe, aka Captain Mainwaring from Dad’s Army. Lessons from his management style must surely include the importance of delegated leadership.
MONDAY
Think relaxing thoughts
Deep breaths. The new term starts now. It may be small compensation for all the Sats preparation, revision sessions or exam invigilation you’ll do in the next few weeks, but it’s not too long until the six-week biggie.
TUESDAY
Celebration overload
This term you won’t be able to move for Diamond Jubilee or London 2012 initiatives. The National Literacy Trust’s Big Diamond Jubilee Read launches today. It’s yet another attempt to turn UK kids into bookworms.
WEDNESDAY
Retail riches
Tesco will announce its profits for the past 12 months. While there was a small dip in 2011, they will still be vast. Tesco’s ongoing success can’t all be down to its school voucher scheme, but every little does help.
THURSDAY
Gang members sentenced
Three gang members found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm to five-year-old Thusha Kamaleswaran, who was left paralysed by a shooting at a South London shop, will be sentenced at the Old Bailey.
FRIDAY
Oil on troubled waters
It is two years since the Deepwater Horizon rig went pop in the Gulf of Mexico, leading to the worst oil spill in living memory. Still, it’s a chance for your science department to explore environmental damage.
