Called Michaela School News Today

Katharine birbalsinghs around the country, if you could kind of drop them, we could have schools all over the country like that with the results? even your arch critics cant deny that you have very, very good results at your school. thats exactly right. and when you were saying about me being this strict disciplinarian, and i feel that theres a culture of excuses and so on, thats in oursociety, notjust in our schools. in 2021, we as a people are letting ourselves down and letting our children do...

With nick robinson. shes been called the strictest headteacher in britain, a teacher who argues that the state education system is broken because of what she calls a culture of excuses of low standards, something that permits chaos in the classroom. my guest this week on political thinking — the programme where we have a conversation, not an interrogation, about what shapes the thinking of someone who helps shape our political thinking — is katharine birbalsingh. shes the head of a free scho...

You think its absurd? well, all of that, really. its a bit funny. i think people imagine that i walk up and down the corridors with whips and chains, when actually im often in my office, meeting teachers. what does strict mean is, what id say. it means immersing children in love and keeping your standards high with regard to your expectations, both in terms of discipline and in terms of what you can teach them. thats what strict is. and the children always prefer the strictest teachers at school...

That way, because i dont think anyone ever said that. i mean, at least i didnt say that to my face. what theyd say were things like wed be trying to set up our school, having a parents evening, and they would come and stand amongst the parents and start shouting at me about how i betrayed them. betrayed why do you think? well, thats whats interesting. i do think its because im a black woman and im state educated and i worked in state education all my life. therefore, im sort of owned by the left...

Small c conservatism is the thing that allows for so many to make the most of their lives, to live lives that have depth, that have real meaning to them, where youre notjust blaming the outside world all the time. as i always say to the children at school, there may very well be racism and sexism and so on, but youve got one life and youve got to grab it by the horns and youve got to do what you can with what youve got. and that doesnt mean that youre not going to be oppressed and there wont be ...

Are terrified to walk down the corridors. not only that, but it means you lose enormous amount of lesson time because it takes so long to get them into the lessons. and when youre trying to catch children up, at 11 years old who have a reading age of a six—year—old, you need as much time in the lessons as possible. so its about loving them, you see, and high expectations. in your school, do you see yourself as imposing a sort of order, a safe environment that doesnt exist the second they lea...

Come on! you dont think i suggested that you should ban any of those things! what are you suggesting? there are certain things that are assumed amongst people of a particular background who go to a particular type of school — usually private schools — that if theyre a barrier to people reaching the top — particularly as its not necessarily evident that all civil service is any more the best in the world — that it would be sensible to change. i think thats what the body you now head argue...

I mean, youre making a very big and quite controversial point. yes. and i would say that i mean, obviously, this isnt the case for all people on the left. im talking im saying that there is a view some some of them who where they feel that they own black people, they feel that they own the way we think. and the idea that there should be diversity of thought amongst black people is something they dont like. they feel theyve bought their vote and that we owe them. so ive been accused of betraying ...

An interrogation, about what shapes their thinking — is someone who helps shape our political thinking is katharine birbalsingh. shes the head of a free school, called michaela school, near wembley, and shes just been appointed as the new chair of the social mobility commission. katharine birbalsingh, welcome to political thinking. thank you. that phrase, "strictest head in britain." do you glow with pride? do you blush? or do you laugh because you think its absurd? well, all of that, really. ...

Is it actually helpful to the governance of britain to learn latin or go to oxford and do ppe? you really want to ban latin? no, no, no. what doesnt the civil service change? well, but the only solution is to ban really high quality stuff. so, ban shakespeare, ban latin band, really complicated maths, because what were doing is were accepting that children who come from poorer families cant access that. come on, you dont think i suggested that you should ban any of those things. there are certai...