Monday, 24 June 2013

Leading girls' school to launch exam in which full marks is impossible

A leading girls' school is to introduce tests in which it is impossible to get 100% so that pupils know it is OK “not to get everything right”. 

It's not about aiming for perfection.

Oxford High School for Girls is said to be considering using the maths test to prevent students becoming obsessed with being “Little Miss Perfect”.
Pupils aged 11 will take the online test in which the questions become harder and harder. When the girl reaches the top of her ability, she then faces questions that she is unable to answer to show that it is “fine not to get everything right".

Parents banned from sports day ‘in case children get stressed’

Parents have been banned from a school’s sports day because teachers claim children get too stressed when performing in front of large crowd. 

Traditionally school sports days involve parents

Some mothers have now threatened a boycott, claiming they will keep their children at home and organise a rival event themselves.
Anger has been fuelled by the fact that staff at the Kenningtons Primary Academy in Aveley, Essex, claim that performing in public would put too much pressure on the child - yet they have invited parents from another school to attend a separate sports event the following day.

'Staggering' digital folk music archive launched

The Full English, an online folk music archive of 44,000 records and over 58,000 digitised images, is launched with special concert at the English Folk Dance and Song Society 

The Full English folk archive brings together 19 music collections, including those of Cecil Sharp (top left) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (bottom left) and includes songs, photographs of music and dancers
Martin Simpson paid tribute to the "staggering" free online digital folk music archive, of 44,000 records and over 58,000 digitised images, that was launched in London last night. 
The Full English, the world's biggest digital archive of English traditional music and dance tunes, bringing together 19 major collections for the first time, was unveiled by the English Folk Dance and Song Society (EFDSS).