Francis Gilbert
Journalism
An archive of articles published in the British press
21 April 2008
Mentors for schoolchildren
Is your kid bright but could do better? Maybe he or she needs a little help from a friend
Published in The Times
9 April 2008
The lesson we can learn about schools
The worst teacher I've ever come across - let's call him Mr Jones - would certainly have agreed with the Tories' new plans for improving behaviour in Britain's schools.
Published in The Daily Telegraph
9 March 2008
How you can win your school appeal
In despair after your child didn’t get the first choice? For parents who won’t take no for an answer, here's some advice
Published in The Times
20 February 2008
The Livesey children's museum really does matter
My son and I fell in love with the Livesey the moment we pushed through its doors and found our very own treasure island
Published in The Times
1 February 2008
British Teenagers Today
Published in The Tablet
5 December 2007
Why our schools have plunged in world league tables despite billions being spent
Comment piece
Published in The Daily Mail
13 September 2007
Interview about Yob Nation
Published in The Big Issue
29 August 2007
Off The Page -- Know Your Place
5 Crucial Rules for Crucial Teachers
Published in Broadcast on BBC Radio 4
27 August 2007
The re-marking lottery
Published in The TES
10 July 2007
Drugs in Schools
The Just Say No Message Hasn't Worked
Published in The Standard
9 July 2007
Letter in the Evening Standard
Response to the General Teaching Council finding secret reporter guilty of misconduct
Published in The Evening Standard
6 July 2007
Rewarding the bad, punishing the good
Published in The Big Issue
6 June 2007
Exams work
Published in The Standard -- commissioned piece not run
1 June 2007
Give me more powers and I’ll stop my pupils fighting
Published in The Times
14 May 2007
Revealed ... the great schools test for parents. How to choose the right school?
By Sheena Hastings. Choosing a school for your child can be a baffling and stressful experience. Teacher Francis Gilbert has written what could become the bible for parents.
Published in The Yorkshire Post
15 April 2007
Education failures are a national tragedy
By Francis Gilbert
Published in The Daily Telegraph
1 March 2007
The School's Lottery
One comprehensive teacher's view
Published in The Daily Mail
11 January 2007
Please, Mr Johnson, stop tinkering with our schools
Francis Gilbert is a secondary school teacher and author of Yob Nation, published by Portrait.
Published in The Yorkshire Post
19 November 2006
That'll learn 'em
reviews by Francis Gilbert
Published in The Times
24 September 2006
How Jamie and school meal fascists turn kids into junk food addicts
by FRANCIS GILBERT, Secondary school teacher Last updated at 22:50pm on 23rd September 2006
Published in The Mail On Sunday
29 July 2006
A pub crawl worth toasting
THE LONGEST CRAWL by Ian Marchant -- Drinking
Published in The Times
15 July 2006
Hey kids, leave that teacher alone
A Channel 4 series in which celebrities recall their school pranks is misguided and cruel, says teacher Francis Gilbert
Published in The Times
13 June 2006
Sorry Mr Reid, we've every damn right to moan
When streets are no-go zones and our legal system protects thugs...
Published in The Daily Mail
28 May 2006
Paperback Review Of 'Teacher On The Run'
By Emma Unsworth
Published in The Sunday Times
13 May 2006
A class struggle for Jilly -- Francis Gilbert's review of Wicked! A Tale Of Two Schools
JILLY COOPER’S NEW novel is a fast-paced, slapstick account of two schools, one at the very bottom of the pile, Larkminster Comprehensive, and one at the very top, Bagley Hall, which is an independent school with marvellous facilities and a growing reputation.
Published in The Times
13 May 2006
TEACHER ON THE RUN: True Tales of Classroom Chaos
Review of The Paperback Of Francis Gilbert's book
Published in The Times
7 April 2006
The Many Faces of British Yob Culture - an interview by Sheena Hastings
Francis Gilbert has spent much of the last couple of years studying yob culture in Britain. He claims that, among the perpetrators of yobbery are Tony Blair and other politicians.
Published in The Yorkshire Post
26 March 2006
Asbo City
The truth about Asbos and yobs
Published in The Mail On Sunday
25 March 2006
Yobs on the job
Being publicly abused by bosses or colleagues can be harder to cope with than a random attack in the street, argues Francis Gilbert
Published in The Guardian
20 March 2006
Stuart Jeffries on Francis Gilbert's 'Yob Nation'
Why are the French so ready to take to the streets? Maybe because, unlike the British, they have something worth fighting for
Published in The Guardian -- G2
19 March 2006
Why do they do it? It’s a yobbo power trip
The British — from hoodies to drunken toffs and even Tony Blair — know the might of a parade, writes Francis Gilbert
Published in The Sunday Times
19 March 2006
Yob Nation Extract -- Part 1
Francis Gilbert is a comprehensive school teacher -- and a victim of a vicious gang attack. He set out to discover what lies behind the violence he encounters every day, and ended up writing a book that offers a devastating analysis of our society
Published in The Mail On Sunday
18 March 2006
The Times' Review of 'Yob Nation' -- Diary of a plagued society by LEO MCKINSTRY
Liberals claim that Britain’s increasing lawlessness is just an illusion. But our reviewer applauds a brave odyssey that proves just the opposite
Published in The Times
11 March 2006
Unsentimental education -- Book Review
SACRIFICES by Michael Fishwick
Published in The Times
6 March 2006
Finally, freedom
Published in The New Statesman -- special education edition
18 January 2006
A Window on the Heart of Africa
Francis Gilbert retraces his great-grandfather’s steps across Nigeria, braving discouraging advice from the Foreign Office and tales of kidnapping, to find a warm welcome for adventurous travellers
Published in The Times
18 December 2005
Teaching as triumph
Francis Gilbert reviews Teacher Man by Frank McCourt
Published in The Daily Telegraph
10 December 2005
Who examines the examiners?
Confronted by a woefully dull GCSE English anthology, Francis Gilbert and his class began to muse on the identity of those who picked their set texts
Published in The Times
22 September 2005
… as any teacher can tell you
Published in The Daily Telegraph
11 September 2005
The senior teacher made it clear: it must be my fault if the children behaved badly
Published in The Daily Telegraph
28 April 2005
Class warfare
Last night, Channel Five broadcast Classroom Chaos, a documentary that used hidden cameras to reveal the apparent state of indiscipline in English schools. Here Francis Gilbert, author of I'm a Teacher Get Me Out of Here, a book that described his experience as a teacher in an urban comprehensive, reviews the programme
Published in The Guardian
27 February 2005
Kelly gives Labour its best day this term
Published in The Daily Telegraph
21 February 2005
A Blairite learns a lesson
Francis Gilbert reviews '1 Out of Ten' by Peter Hyman
Published in The Daily Telegraph
21 November 2004
One rogue pupil held up my class for a year
Published in The Daily Telegraph
30 October 2004
Well done, Mum – you got an A
It's a fine line between assisting with coursework and cheating, says Rachel Carlyle
Published in The Daily Telegraph
26 October 2004
Up to no good
The culture of 'helping' pupils with their coursework is rife in schools, says Francis Gilbert. And Tomlinson's proposals for more teacher assessment can only make matters worse
Published in The Guardian
17 October 2004
Don't blame Harry!
Published in The Daily Telegraph
10 August 2004
The select few
Labour has got it wrong for 30 years: comprehensive education has turned city schools into ghettos, says Francis Gilbert
Published in The Guardian
11 July 2004
Now I know selection works
Published in The Daily Telegraph
29 February 2004
I've learnt my lesson
When Francis Gilbert left teacher training college in the late Eighties, he was a radical and an idealist. But then he got into the classroom... In an astonishing new memoir, extracted here, he offers a picture of our education system that you won't find in any school prospectus
Published in The Observer
18 January 2004
The league tables are a game - don't take them too seriously
Published in The Daily Telegraph
4 December 1998
The truth about audiobooks
Published in New Statesman