THIS WEEK
13-19 OCTOBER 2012
SATURDAY
No facetious answers, please
Should poetry be difficult to understand? If you could invent a new musical instrument, what sound would it make? The University of Oxford released some sample interview questions as admissions season nears.
SUNDAY
Sir, will his eyeballs explode?
Felix Baumgartner jumped from the edge of space and gave us a science lesson to remember. If his suit failed, would his eyes explode? How high can a helium balloon fly? How fast is supersonic?
MONDAY
One man wants to be an island
He’s giving up on GCSEs and community schools, and now he’s ready to walk out on Europe, too. Education secretary Michael Gove reportedly told friends that if there was a referendum, he would vote to quit the EU.
TUESDAY
A Fish in troubled waters
“A woman rang the BBC to say she’d heard there was a hurricane on the way. Well, if you’re watching, don’t worry. There isn’t.” The nation marked 25 years since Michael Fish failed to predict the great storm of 1987.
WEDNESDAY
Down on the farm
Get with it Emmerdale, EastEnders did this yonks ago. The popular ITV soap broadcast its first ever live episode to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Ah, the perils of collapsing sets and stray sheep.
THURSDAY
Opening university doors
Social mobility tsar and former Labour minister Alan Milburn released a report on improving access to higher education. One suggestion was giving cash to universities that take on poor students.
FRIDAY
Beam me up, scotty!
Science teachers: now is the time for unearthing your Captain Kirk costume and brushing up on your Klingon. The Destination Star Trek London exhibition starts today at the Excel Centre.
NEXT WEEK
20-26 OCTOBER 2012
SATURDAY
Hoping to steal a march
“Red” Ed Miliband will risk the inevitable “Ed Militant” headlines if the rumours are true and he joins protesters for an anti-austerity march in London today. But can they save school budgets from their doom?
SUNDAY
Holding out for a hero
It’s Trafalgar Day, marking Horatio Nelson’s victory over the French and Spanish fleets in 1805. History teachers will tell you that Nelson was shot during the battle and subsequently died.
MONDAY
Simply the best
Tina Turner, Annie Lennox and a team of medical professionals have won it before. Maybe a teacher could scoop the top gong this year. The Women of the Year Awards takes place today.
TUESDAY
Licence to thrill
Prince Charles will be among guests at the premiere of the new Bond film, Skyfall, at the Royal Albert Hall. Daniel Craig stars again and Ben Whishaw is the new Q. Not that TES is excited. No. How unseemly.
WEDNESDAY
Kneebone’s connected to the ...
The prize for pertinent name goes to surgery professor Roger L. Kneebone. His lecture at London’s Wellcome Trust will explain how involving young people on surgical teams can improve biomedical science teaching.
THURSDAY
A political dogfight
The Westminster Dog of the Year competition concludes today, after a hotly contested online battle between MPs’ dogs for the public vote. A last-minute “Doggy Dash” will decide the overall winner.
FRIDAY
Hold on to your hat
Schools are being encouraged to take part in St Mungo’s Woolly Hat Day for the homeless. The charity has produced packs for schools showing how pupils and teachers can raise money by bunging on a beanie.
