It is true that I do spend quite a lot of time on the road. As many of my friends prepare to travel abroad over the summer, here are some top tips… Please do add your own at the bottom! 1. Roll your clothes rather than folding them. They crease less and take up less…
It is the season of speech days and prize-givings in schools in England. Summer afternoons are punctuated by the sounds of parents’ applause as young people are called to the stage in their school’s assembly hall, shake hands with a guest speaker, receive a certificate, book or trophy and return, embarrassed but rather proud,…
Fatima has just turned 14 years old. She is small for her age, still waiting for the adolescent growth spurt which will propel her towards adulthood. Her hijab is bright blue and her new teeshirt, emblazoned with the logos of both the El Hassan Youth Award and The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award is snowy…
My five year old nephew, Jack Patrick, came to lunch today. He brought his mum and dad, his little brother and his grandma with him, but, as he helped me microwave the frozen peas and lay the table, it did feel as though it was him I was entertaining rather than anyone else. “I…
Never go back. That’s what they say; whoever ‘they’ may be. I’ve taken that advice for thirty years, but a few weeks ago I decided to go and visit the school where I spent my adolescence. I hadn’t visited since I left there a month before I turned eighteen and have never…
Babar Ali lives in Murshidabad, West Bengal. He attends the Raj Govinda School, a 10km auto-rickshaw ride away. He is the first person in his family to go to school. He is 16 years old and he is a model student. But it’s not what he does at school that is so extraordinary. It’s…
A few days ago, whilst visiting Jakarta, Indonesia, I was asked by some young people if I had any advice for them. I was flattered, of course. But talking to Millennials about the challenges they face is difficult. It feels rather presumptuous to lecture the current generation of up-and-comers. Having grown up with high-tech, they’re…
Just found these buzzing around the internet,(with thanks to my friend Boz for pointing me to them)… I know they defer to outrageous national stereotypes, but I do think they’re funny. I suspect the original list was put together by an Australian! SOCIALISM You have 2 cows. You give one to your neighbour…
Last week, I spent an afternoon at the SOS Children’s Village in Kakiri, about 20km north of Kampala in Uganda. I felt privileged to be able to present Bronze and Silver Awards to a host of talented young people who live there. The first time I heard about SOS Children’s Villages was as a child….
It is not often that I find myself agreeing with the UK’s Secretary of State for education. Indeed, in the past I’ve found myself sitting opposite him vehemently disagreeing with him about his apparent desire to ignore the importance of vocational education. But today, I would like to offer Mr Gove two and a half…