Admissions

  • What Kind of School Parent Are You?

    🦒🦊🐆 What kind of parent are you when it comes to your child’s education? I’ve spent decades working in education, as a teacher, author, and now as Dr Francis Gilbert, Head of Education at Goldsmiths, University of London. I’ve written two books for parents about navigating schools, Parent Power and Working the System, and while they’re over a decade old, revisiting them recently reminded me how little has changed. The system is still confusing. The stakes are still high. And parents are still left feeling overwhelmed by league tables, playground gossip, and hidden admissions rules. That’s why I’ve created this quiz. It’s short, fun—and surprisingly revealing. You’ll discover your instinctive parenting style when it comes to education. Are you a Giraffe? A Fox? A Wildebeest? Each result comes with advice you can actually use. 🎯 It’s more timely than ever—because your approach as a parent really does shape your child’s experience at school. 📥 Take the quiz and download the free printable version from my website. 👉 If you’re reading this on Instagram, you’ll need to paste the link into your browser to access the full article and quiz. #Parenting #SchoolAdmissions #EducationMatters #ParentPower #FrancisGilbert #Goldsmiths

  • How to choose a school: by teachers for parents

    Tis the season when schools are trying to woo potential parents at open days. How can you tell what a school is really like behind the facade? Here is our guide by those who know: the teachers. This article first appeared in The Guardian. I know from bitter experience that appearances can be deceptive. I […]

  • If Gove likes Finland’s schools so much, why doesn’t he imitate them?

    The new results from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are about to be published which compare the achievements of education systems across the globe. The latest Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is expected to show the achievements of UK and Swedish schools falling behind, while Finnish schools are surging ahead. Michael Gove, […]

  • Don’t panic about your child’s schooling!

    Help! I’m in a complete panic about schools! I feel that every decision I make about my children’s school is wrong. What should I do? Firstly, be aware that you’re not alone. Being a school teacher for the last twenty years in various state schools, I’ve noticed that a lot of parents panic about their […]

  • The penny has dropped: scrap academic and social selection and opt for an ‘ecological admissions test’

    How many teachers really know how the pupils sitting before them actually got there? If you’re teaching in a grammar school, are you aware of the hours of agonised torture your pupils endured preparing for the 11-plus? If you’re in a school that deals with its own admissions, are you aware of all the hoops […]