Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Gavin Williamson: should he stay or should he go?
We cannot let PM Johnson continue to erode accountability for those who rule us so badly — the exam scandal should mean the end for the Secretary of State for Education, argues HANK ROBERTS
A student protests against the exam results debacle outside Gavin Williamson’s constituency office
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
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NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
FIRST the head of Ofqual Sally Collier went. Now the education permanent secretary Jonathan Slater has gone. Two down — any others to go?
The magnificent victory that we have achieved in preventing the outrageous and pernicious attack on working-class children’s education warrants further reflection and analysis.
Was it incompetence? Certainly. Was it deliberate? Well it certainly wasn’t accidental was it?
The class nature of education policy in Britain, particularly but not exclusively of Conservative governments, is well illustrated by the fact that out of 55 prime ministers, 46 (including Tony Blair) have come from a very small number of elite “public schools.” Boris Johnson is the 20th Old Etonian to be PM.
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