Special report | Back to basics
England’s school reforms are earning fans abroad
Countries that have made more fashionable changes have seen their scores fall hard
On paper, Mercia School in the north of England is a forbidding and unfashionable place. Teachers focus unrelentingly on “the acquisition of knowledge”, if its intimidating website is any guide. Lessons are “didactic”, delivered to pupils sitting in orderly rows. Youngsters form lines in the playground before processing silently into class. Failure to bring a pen can earn a demerit. Chatting in the corridors is banned.
This article appeared in the Special report section of the print edition under the headline “Back to basics”
From the July 13th 2024 edition
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