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HEPI Guest Post

  • WEEKEND READING: Bricks and moolah: Buildings, money and the civic university

    19 August 2023 by William Whyte

    Twelfth-century Northampton was one of the intellectual powerhouses of England. Fuelled by the wealth of the town and a long-standing tradition of teaching, it was by the 1180s well on its way to becoming the first serious university in the country.1 It was so attractive that scholars fleeing problems in…

  • Change in the research system

    17 August 2023 by David Sweeney

    At the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee on the 19 April 2023, Sir Paul Nurse, giving evidence about his Review of the Research Landscape, said ‘It has been more or less the same for half a century. I am suggesting – you heard the words – revolution…

  • How Ark schools are preparing for results day

    16 August 2023 by David Tiedemann

    Key Stage 5 results day is both an exciting time in schools, and a large logistical undertaking.  At Ark, we have 13 sixth forms across London, Birmingham, and Hastings, and more than 1000 Year 13 students, so while the day is full of wonderful stories about student success, it is…

  • Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom

    16 August 2023 by Professor Karen O’Brien

    Knowledge of languages is the doorway to wisdom, as the medieval English philosopher Roger Bacon is reported to have said. Bacon’s achievements were such that he was known as ‘Doctor Mirabilis’, and he is widely credited as one of the earliest European advocates of the modern scientific method.  Languages, scientific…

  • How reliable are exam grades?

    14 August 2023 by Mary Curnock Cook

    In this blog, I want to provide some context and challenge to two erroneous statements that are made about exam grades: For teenagers, exam results days mark major milestones.  For most GCSE, A level and BTEC students, the grades they get awarded this summer represent a passport which will either…

  • Students and learning: Then and now

    11 August 2023 by Alex Bols and Graeme Wise

    At the time of HEPI’s foundation in 2003, higher education was one of the key issues in politics and public policy. Student issues were at the centre of this. A new White Paper, The Future of Higher Education, was published by Charles Clarke, a Secretary of State who had himself…

  • The evolving tertiary space in the UK:  Meeting the skills needs through HE in FE

    9 August 2023 by Andrea Laczik and Josh Patel

    The university sector in the UK is, despite its status in popular and political discourse, only one part of a much broader spectrum of post-secondary education. This spectrum of tertiary education and training also includes further education (FE) colleges and other higher education institutions (HEIs). Neither has the nature of…