This week has brought a small beacon of hope, a flicker of brilliance amidst the usual doomscrolling. The ceasefire in Gaza has deservedly taken up much of the headlines, bringing much-needed light and hope for many. But this article focuses instead on the daily drumrolls of brilliance that have also
Today’s breakfast came with an aroma of chlorine. Not in the chic “croissant beside a rooftop infinity pool” way, but in that faint, clingy, leisure-centre chemical way. The smell that sneaks into your hair, colonises your towel, and, apparently, clings to your children as they march out the door
This week, a Year 9 student hit me with a question that stopped me in my tracks: "Why do we even practice maths challenge problems when they don’t even come up at GCSE?" Cue my face: While thinking: Did they really just suggest that puzzling over maths
Two surprising things happened to me this week. First, my son voluntarily followed me into a bookshop. Not only that, he announced—without irony—that his English teacher had recommended Great Expectations to him so he was keen to read it. I nearly dropped the armful of books I was
Here’s a funny thing I notice when teaching teens: they can text a whole novel in emojis and slang and sound totally natural. “Dude messed up, bro 😂” takes zero effort. They can roast, vent, and narrate entire dramas in 140-character bursts. But ask them to write an essay, and
That collective sigh of relief so loud it could be mistaken for the wind. Parents everywhere, finally free. It’s back-to-school week. But here’s my confession: I get disproportionately excited about September. Not because I’ve escaped INSET days or finally get peace and quiet over a cup of
Congratulations, you've made it (or almost made it) to the end of term. Your brain is a soup, your planner looks like it survived a house fire, and it’s the season of reckoning with end of year results, wildly optimistic goal-setting, and remembering how to be a
A dive into the Pigeonhole Principle—a deceptively simple idea with unexpectedly creative power. It doesn’t crunch numbers; it sidesteps them, using logic to prove the impossible.
There’s a specific kind of summer brain that feels like trying to do calculus inside a hairdryer. You’re technically conscious, but only just. You go to the fridge and forget why, aside form to stick your face in it. You reread the same sentence four times and still
A mathematical and scientific wander through the weirdness of Friday the 13th.
June 6th deserves a pause. Not the poppy-emoji-on-stories kind. A proper pause — the kind where you stop, breathe, and realise this day changed everything. Because on this day in 1944, thousands of mostly young men (many the age of Year 13s) climbed into boats, planes and gliders, crossed the English
You sit down. Ninety minutes on the clock. A question in front of you. Your mouth’s gone dry, your pen feels like a weapon you’re not trained to use, and the question is staring at you like a cat judging your life choices. This is not the time
I have stared into the abyss. The abyss has a name. It is SKÅRNVIK. It arrived in a toe-breakingly heavy IKEA-branded cardboard sarcophagus which seemed far too small to contain anything more ambitious than a sandwich. Yet, it promised a sleek, white monolith of drawers, quiet despair and my all-night
Failure. Tuesday night, in a valiant attempt to bake my daughter a surprise birthday cake, I found myself knee-deep in disaster. Again. I’ve been here before. It all started with my son's first birthday cake. I misjudged the flour-to-egg ratio and ended up with a number “1”
Last Sunday, while over 50,000 people ran the London Marathon, I completed a much shorter (and lazier) event: the “Watch-Athon.” Cuppa? Check. Curious brain? Double check. Admiration? Absolutely. And no intention of joining in. I hate running. If you see me sprinting, call for help — I’m either being
Science isn’t just for the lab-coated elite. You don’t need goggles, a Bunsen burner, or a grant from NASA. You just need a match, a slinky and a sense of curiosity. Whether you’re a teacher looking to spark curiosity in your students or a parent hoping to
Ever seen someone parallel park like a pro? One fluid move, no hesitation. Meanwhile, the rest of us are stuck doing a 17-point turn, with a line of cars silently judging. Reading is kind of like that. Some kids glide into books effortlessly, no awkward gear shifts, no panic. Others?
As if getting teenagers out of bed isn’t hard enough... Knock once—silence. Knock twice—still nothing. Crack the door open and a groggy voice, thick with betrayal, mumbles, “Five more minutes.” Except on Sunday, five minutes is actually sixty-five, because British Summer Time (BST) has swooped in overnight,
In his famous Proverbs of Hell, William Blake declares: "Energy is eternal delight." Apt, I thought, as I surveyed the Monday morning carnage. The kids were practically asleep in their porridge bowls—about as lively as a phone on 1% battery. On the bus stop walk, they were
“Mum, what’s Pi?” “3.141 and the rest…” “No, I know that. But what actually is Pi?” Ah. The moment every parent dreads: when your default walking Wikipedia mode malfunctions. Normally, I’d fire off a definition faster than you can say “Google it.” But this one deserved a
It’s Monday morning. You’ve barely had your coffee, and you’re already refereeing a showdown over a glue stick. On your left, a student clutching it like it’s the last life vest on the Titanic. On your right, their classmate, arms crossed, lips pursed, delivering a death
It happened this week—a subtle, undeniable shift in the air. The days are stretching out just a little longer. Light past 5pm! Actual, real daylight! Naturally, this sent me spiralling into deep, existential thoughts about nature (as one does). Daffodils are limbering up for their grand entrance, and the
I don’t know how she does it. No matter where I hide the good snacks—behind the cereal boxes, in the vegetable drawer (a classic decoy), even in a container labeled “Quinoa”—my 11 year old daughter always finds them. Meanwhile, her teenage brother is blindly rummaging through the
Finance. Just saying it can make your head spin. Now try explaining it to kids. Suddenly, "Your head might explode" seems pretty accurate. From daily spending to stocks, finance is a vast maze. And it starts in the most unexpected places—like tapping a phone to buy a
Careers. The most overwhelming topic for kids. Ask any child what they want to be when they grow up. You’ll get one of two answers: a confident declaration… or a blank stare. But what if I told you... most people have no idea what's possible because they&
Saturday night. The frost was biting through my boots, and the thermometer mocked me: -4°C. Usually, this makes me utterly miserable. But, instead of complaining (okay, maybe I complained a little), we stood there, huddled together, shivering and captivated by the sky. Four planets—Venus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars—
Last week, I stared at my kids’ weekly schedules—swim training, music practice, production rehearsals, weekend galas, and race events away from home—and thought: “Where on earth are we supposed to fit in homework, let alone the extra revision they need to keep up academically?” If you’ve felt
Check out ideas for books, board games, podcasts, YouTube channels, and films to keep kids inspired this holiday season.
Sharpen your kids' minds and give them the edge they need— from the classroom to the future job market.