AQA recently announced a scheme to rank all A-level students according to which school they attend, aimed at exposing potential in students from underachieving schools. Or, to put it another way, AQA have today announced a scheme to penalise students from independent schools. Under the system, students from low-performing comprehensives in disadvantaged areas would be entitled to A-level ‘bonus points’ for their school’s ranking, whereas a student from a top performing independent with no students on free school meals would be penalised for the average success of their school. In theory, the scheme sounds promising; a leveling of potential regardless of achievement. In practice attributing bonus points for underperforming schools and penalty points for top ones is fraught with danger. As Professor Alan Smithers from the University of Buckingham has stated, “There must be concerns about the ranking the candidates are awarded. The possibility for errors are enormous.” The ...

Who put Kelvin Mackenzie on Newsnight to discuss the London riots? Amidst the voices trying to discuss the potential causes of the riots in a reasoned manner, his voice rung out over all others as he blamed the riots upon ‘vile people’ and ‘scumbags’, and that we should not try and understand the mentality behind the riots but turn to the law courts to give them ‘sentences that will make them quiver’. This appears to be a common argument; label the perpetrators of the riots as mindless thugs, and that by putting them in jail and threatening to close BBM services, the problem will disappear. This was violence with no political cause, destroying because it was possible and pandering to simple greed Unfortunately, the answer is not as simple as it appears. Yes, those who looted and burned shops and homes in their local communities are guilty of senseless violence without a cause, showing blatant disregard for their neighbours and others. Yes, on one level this can be reduced ...

What a week for A. C. Grayling. Since his announcement that he will be opening a New College of the Humanities, he has been subject to attack from students, media, and fellow academics alike; rallied against on Facebook and smoke-bombed out of Foyles. In an interview with Shiv Malik for The Guardian , he commented; “[This issue] has become this sort of lightning conductor for the whole dissatisfaction that everybody feels about what’s happening in higher education ... which is really bad, so they pick on something to have a real go at.” But is it simply a case of jumping on the bandwagon of persecution, or is there a more reasoned argument for the amount of vitriol aimed at Grayling for his decision? In truth it has exposed an important, underlying issue that has been caused by the current government’s policy on higher education; as Grayling noted in an interview with The Times , “The Government’s higher education policy is in such a disarray that I don’t think they ...

I recently went to see a production of Aida at the Royal Opera House which was being recorded for broadcast on Radio 3; there was a reverent silence as the strings opened the opera until, in the silence, an elderly woman’s voice rang out: “Is this my seat?”, earning a few fervent hushes from other audience members. Another silence and then: “Um...I don’t quite know where I am”, this time provoking both laughter and anger from those around her. So much for the flawless performance that we expect from modern recordings. But it is this unexpected element that forms the most quirky and intriguing part of music: that which comes with live performance. The performance is, after all, the very essence of music itself, which seems to have been forgotten in the almost clinical age of the record. This aim to eliminate the live aspect of music almost entirely from the musical experience is indicative of the internet age, where recordings are available on demand, often for free, but i ...

Justifying one’s university subject can, at first, seem entirely baffling. To anyone who has chosen to study a subject to a degree level, there will be so many reasons to consider that answers will not come easily. But when the question is asked at a national level and the funding of an entire sector of the university system is at stake, the question one always dreads at Oxbridge interview - “Why study your subject? What is the point in it?” - suddenly takes on a great deal of importance. The arts and humanities have been subjected to cuts that will pose serious problems for publicly funded programs with potentially devastating consequences; over 200 organisations have been affected, more than originally predicted by the Arts Council. Alistair Spalding (director of Sadlers Wells) warned last year that if the severe cuts go ahead, “very many arts organisations will simply disappear”. Few, it seems, are immune. Even companies such as the Northern Ballet, Manchester’s Green ...