For the first time in 27 years, I have no personal stake in the GCSE results that are released this morning. I did not teach Year 11 last year, so I will not be poring over statistics to explain the performance of my class to my superiors in school.
Author: Debbie Hayton
Physics teacher and trade unionist.
A-level results day is the most terrifying moment in anyone’s education. Poor GCSEs can be overlooked by a school that knows their pupils could do well in the sixth form. Degree classifications at university are so broad that one bad paper may well not matter. But A-Levels are brutal. Students who miss their university offer by just one grade in one subject can find themselves rejected without the right of appeal or the means to resit. Their future changes instantly by the barest of margins.
The International Chess Federation’s announcement makes empirical sense
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Toilet politics needn’t be difficult
August is traditionally the silly season in politics but we seem to be stuck in silly decade of policy, and not in a funny way. Even ten years ago, few might have imagined that the minister for equalities would have needed to open up a debate on toilets. Yesterday*, Kemi Badenoch announced that the government is publishing draft guidance that will protect the dignity, privacy and safety of all. In particular, she insisted that so-called gender-neutral toilets are no longer an option.
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Mhairi Black needs to grow up
When 20-year old Mhairi Black was elected in 2015, she became the youngest MP for over 300 years. Eight years later, it seems that the ‘baby of the house’ has yet to grow up. Speaking at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Black has likened gender critical campaigners to white supremacists, and suggested that they were funded by ‘fundamental Christian groups in America, Baptist groups [and] anti-abortion organisations.’
The Transgender Thought Police are impossible to please. The sooner Amanda Abbington realises, the better. The star of Sherlock and Mr Selfridge is the latest woman to end up in the dock for voicing an opinion they deem to be unacceptable.
Activists and policymakers have made the term confusing
July 2023 could soon be declared as the hottest month on record. Few doubt that climate change is real and that it is in our interest to do something about it. So, of all the parties competing for votes next year, you might imagine that the Green party of England and Wales would be single-minded in the goal of championing planet-saving research and promoting ways in which we can all do our bit. This is a golden chance for the party to welcome anyone who shares those objectives.
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Progenitor trans
🇬🇧 🇺🇸 This piece is published in English elsewhere on my blog: Trans parent.
«¿De verdad que necesitas hacer esto? ¿No te importamos el resto de nosotros para nada?», preguntó mi esposa, Stephanie. Pero mis energías estaban desbordadas por mis propias necesidades; era un enfoque que no dejaba sitio para nadie más. Después de toda una vida ocultando mi agitación interior, mi mente gozaba con lo que pensé que eran nuevas libertades. Estaba hablando de mi identidad de género; cómo era una mujer atrapada en el cuerpo de un hombre y por qué necesitaba hacer la transición. Eso fue hace ocho años*, en 2012. Es difícil para mí recordar cómo se apoderó de mi vida, aunque tal vez sea más fácil para Stephanie, que tuvo que mantener los pies en el suelo mientras mi cabeza estaba en las nubes.
The organisation has followed swimming’s lead on female competition.
Debbie Hayton 