THIS WEEK
2-8 JUNE 2012
SATURDAY
Party hats all round
We celebrated Her Maj’s reign and cursed the rain, while participants in National Camping and Caravanning Week geared up for a record attempt at “most people wearing paper crowns across multiple locations”.
SUNDAY
Reading matters
Unwanted tomes at the ready: Oxfam this week launched a book donation drive, which lasts until 21 June, in preparation for its annual Bookfest series of literary events in its charity shops, starting on 2 July.
MONDAY
Pink slime has had its day
The US’s Turkey Twizzler moment: it was announced that only schools in Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota have opted to stick with “pink slime” - highly processed beef mince now banned in other states.
TUESDAY
Public service in the spotlight
OK, so he was talking about the monarch rather than teachers, but the Archbishop of Canterbury praised public service, saying that the Queen is “living proof that (it) is possible and is a place where happiness can be found”.
WEDNESDAY
The playhouse is the thing
Lovers of Shakespeare were delighted when archaeologists digging in Shoreditch, East London, said they had discovered the remains of the Curtain theatre, the predecessor to the Globe.
THURSDAY
Up for debate
The Oxford Union seemed like an appropriate venue to debate whether who you know is still more important than what you know. Dr Martin Stephen, former high master of St Paul’s School, argued against the motion.
FRIDAY
Great expectations
Fans of Charles Dickens were expected to flock to Rochester today for the start of its annual Dickens Festival. Miss Havisham and Mr Scrooge were scheduled to roam the streets of the Kent town.
NEXT WEEK
9-15 JUNE 2012
SATURDAY
Riding through the night
Mark Lacey, head of Parson Street Primary in Bedminster, Bristol, will cycle through the night when he takes part in the London Nightrider 100km challenge to raise money for the Rainbow Centre for Children.
SUNDAY
Look who’s talking
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls and anti-phone hacking MP Tom Watson are to speak at the GMB union’s annual congress in Brighton, on until 14 June. Classroom assistants and other school support staff are due to attend.
MONDAY
Time to knuckle down
Back to school after half-term. Even worse, expect moans about school leavers’ literacy and numeracy in the wake of the launch of the Confederation of British IndustryPearson annual education and skills survey.
TUESDAY
Head faces fraud charges
Sir Alan Davies, the former head of Copland Community School in Wembley, is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court. He has been accused of fraud, amid allegations of financial mismanagement at the school.
WEDNESDAY
World champion inspiration
Karen Pickering, Britain’s first female world champion swimmer, will speak at the annual reception of the Girls’ Day School Trust in London, which is celebrating 140 years of its girls’ schools network.
THURSDAY
Absent without leave
School truants, skippers, skivers and refusers will be in the frame with the publication of the Department for Education’s school absence statistics for the 2011 autumn term.
FRIDAY
Doing the honours
Sirs and Dames: the Queen’s Birthday Honours list will be announced to the press today, for publication on Saturday. But will any teachers be rewarded with an invitation to Buckingham Palace?
