As teachers and education providers, we can try to create and foster a positive learning environment where no student feels unable to speak out. The pace of lessons is very important, and it may be useful to divide lengthier topics into smaller ones wherever possible.

I find that as a student, particularly at secondary school, it was very helpful for me when my teachers used different learning activities such as group work and more interactive learning using printed resources and the digital whiteboard, rather than just standing at the front and asking us to read from the textbook!

My history teacher in years 8 through to 10 was brilliant at this, and it has always stuck with me. Bear in mind that not all students would be comfortable with this kind of interaction, so assess and alter/make accommodations accordingly.

It’s also important that staff give regular feedback to students and their parents and promote positive feedback to students throughout the lesson. During my time at secondary school, teachers would send lovely postcards home to praise my efforts in class. It really made me feel seen, despite my being extremely quiet. It is good to express that failure is not always a bad thing and is useful for understanding progress and goals.

Founder of the Academy and highly experienced educator, Dr Sergis, gives his thoughts and suggestions:

“I define two types of behaviours among students who fail to concentrate in lessons: disengaged behaviour and disruptive behaviour. I define disengaged behaviour as those students who are sitting quietly but not listening or only half-complete their tasks, and disruptive behaviour as those students who call out, interrupt others, being restless, getting out of their seats and not following instructions. I also effectively manage disengaged and disruptive behaviour by following three methods:

• Monitoring the students
• Using non-verbal communication
• Using verbal communication

I monitor the students by making them know that I am aware of what is happening in the classroom and so provide support to those that need it. Non-verbal communication involves positioning myself near the disruptive students and drawing their attention to me by using techniques such as pausing and altering the tone of my voice to emphasise the importance of the lesson and subject-matter”. He continues,

“The use of verbal communication includes positively interacting with students regularly by helping them and by individually acknowledging or praising good behaviour. I find that my techniques help to build connections with students and enables me to connect disengaged or disruptive behaviour without criticising them in front of other better-behaved students. In this way, I ensure that all students stay engaged with my lessons.”

One thing I always try to do as administrator at the Academy is to make sure that every student walks into a positive learning environment, and I try to make it as comfortable as possible. That means making sure the lighting is effective, the tables and chairs are comfortable and that a good temperature is maintained throughout the seasons. Some recommend having bare walls in classrooms, but I believe it makes some students feel uncomfortable.

Posters can often inspire students to learn, and colour creates a positive mood. The students are often too engrossed in lessons to take notice anyway! However, I do think it is very important to keep classroom spaces free of clutter, as this can cause students not to focus or feel relaxed enough to learn.   

For particularly high-energy students, it is recommended that you do not focus too much on controlling every disruption and instead focus on maintaining the overall flow of the classroom. Stress balls and fidget toys can be used to keep high energy students occupied and focus their energy in a quieter way, so it may be useful to keep these in the classroom when needed.

If needs be, you can adjust the seating of hyperactive or disruptive students accordingly and avoid placing these students near distractions such as windows, doors and bookcases etc.

It may also be useful to introduce short breaks, for maybe five minutes, and to add movement during the lesson. Encourage students to move around in those five minutes or do some short stretching.

It also may help students if teaching staff make it clear what is expected of them. Setting clear goals and homework tasks and making clear when they are due can help students structure things easier and it may help build their confidence and engagement in lessons and with the topic.

These are just some basic tips, and I hope that this is of use to teachers and assistants. If there are any other tips you use in your teaching, please feel free to leave a comment in the comments section!

Only fragments of Archytas’ genuine work have survived, and we know that his original scientific and mathematical treatises were copied many times and throughout the Middle Ages. Archytas was the first to solve one of the most celebrated mathematical problems in antiquity, the duplication of the cube, and he proved the ratios in harmonical scales (now known as wavelengths) in musical theory.

He was the most sophisticated of the Pythagorean harmonic theorists, defined and identified four canonical sciences: logistic (arithmetic), geometry, astronomy and music. These became known as the quadrivium in the Middle Ages. He also contributed to the development of the science of optics and laid the mathematical foundations for the science of mechanics. He believed that the ultimate goal of the sciences is the description of phenomena in the cosmos in terms of equations that describe the ratio and proportion of scientific quantities that could be measured experimentally.

He gave definitions of quantities that took account of both their matter and their form. He also developed the most famous argument for the infinity of the universe. He also believed that rational calculations and an understanding of proportion, and the application of these in scientific phenomena were the master sciences through which humanity could begin to understand the universe. Although Archytas was a friend of Plato, there are many signs of disagreement between the two philosophers. 

However, he is known to have sent a ship to rescue Plato from the clutches of the tyrant of Syracuse, Dionysius II, in 361 BC (after Plato visited the dictator in a vain attempt to educate him into ruling justly). Archytas was also a dominant political figure in Taras, being elected general seven consecutive times, and was a good statesman and strategist. However, his work in mathematics and the sciences, especially mechanics, proved deeply influential during the Renaissance and Enlightenment Period, and therefore in the development of modern science.  

Indeed, his strong belief in the application of mathematics in understanding the universe and his development of mathematics in mechanics, together with Archimedes, influenced scientists during the Enlightenment period, including Galileo Galilei, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, and Isaac Newton.  

Margaret Lucas was born in 1623 to a wealthy family in Essex. She was surrounded by strong, independent female figures from a young age and, like many of the female subjects of my blogs, she was surrounded by books. Her family also had a large library, and she had a private tutor, which was not common at the time for women of her station. At the age of twenty, she went to serve in the household of Queen Henrietta Maria, the French Catholic wife of King Charles I, against her mother’s wishes. During the uncertain times of the Civil War, Margaret was exiled with the Queen and her royal court to France and lived at the court of Louis the fourteenth. However, she struggled with the social aspect of life at court.

Whilst in exile, Margaret met a man named William Cavendish (a Marquess, later made Duke of Newcastle by King Charles II) who became drawn to her shyness. William was thirty years older than Margaret and despite objections to the marriage, they married in 1645. In 1653, during the time of Cromwellian rule, Margaret would write Poems and Fancies. In this work, she began to explore ideas of natural philosophy, a precursor to modern day scientific thinking. She laid out her theories on atoms through her poetry.

In the 1650s she frequently discussed notions of gender and sex and gender inequality. She questioned whether gender inequality was inherent in the sexes themselves or if it was caused by social restrictions within society. She was considered unusual by her contemporaries, and many considered her ridiculous. They criticised her sumptuous fashions and publications. She would often wear men’s dress.

She asserted herself within the sphere of men, not just through her clothing, but her writing too. Intellectual and creative writing was considered only a man’s domain. In the fabulous 1665 portrait I refer to in the beginning of this blog, Margaret is wearing her most sumptuous feminine court attire, but she is also wearing a cap - something men usually wore. She certainly made a statement!

Margaret and William returned to England after the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 and Margaret would go on to write Observations upon Experimental Philosophy in 1666. It provided a detailed criticism of what would become a major scientific and philosophical movement of the Early Modern era.

Along with the recently established Royal Society, the age began to embrace scientific experiment and observation and moved away from mere theory. However, Margaret was against the idea of cold scientific thinking and suggested that our own senses and thinking were far more reliable and well suited to understanding the natural world around us than the new instruments of observation. This went against the great experimental philosophers of the day, such as Robert Hooke and Robert Boyle.

To her, the entirety of the natural world was more soulful and self-aware than the popular cold, mechanical view of it. Margaret had immense courage and self-conviction by doing this. At a meeting held by the Royal Society in 1667, Margaret became the first woman to attend. Diarist Samuel Pepys was also in attendance but didn’t think much of her. He commented on her ‘comeliness’ but to him, it seemed that she had not much of worth to say.

To make her ideas more accessible, and most importantly accessible to women, she published the fictional The Blazing World in 1668, an early form of science fiction writing. She hoped that it would inspire women to take an interest in the study of science and philosophy. The story follows a young lady who is kidnapped and then left stranded in a mysterious new world that can only be reached via the North Pole. The lady marries the emperor and as Empress she wields total power, establishing a calm and ordered civilisation. The universe is filled with human-like creatures who practise various intellectual disciplines; birdmen are astronomers, spider and lice men are mathematicians, and bear-men are experimental philosophers. Margaret also published her work under her own name which, again, was very unusual for her time.

Margaret was an eccentric figure that stuck out of her time. Seeing herself as lacking the proper feminine skills of the time, she decided to use her position to think and to pursue intellectual endeavours. She wanted to utilise her thinking ability and hoped to inspire others to do the same. Remarkably, she asserted herself in the male-dominated academic and intellectual realms, and she seemed not to care much of what people thought of her. Margaret was a prolific writer and thinker, and I do not have enough space to discuss all her work in this blog, but I hope it gives you a small glimpse into just some of her most famous works and perhaps, her personality.

I also think that she did believe that women could be powerful thinkers and that it should not just be the occupation of a man. It also seems that she was concerned with being remembered and leaving a legacy, perhaps because so many talented women of her day went voiceless and nameless into the sea of history. In her own words, she would ‘endeavour to spin a garment of memory, to lapp up my name that it might grow to after ages’.

His “Elements” became the second most widely read book for over 2000 years, after the Bible. It deeply influenced the development of modern mathematics. The “Elements” was also instrumental in the development of the field of mechanics and applied physics, as well as projective geometry, including the construction of technical drawing in engineering and the development of steam engines during the Industrial Revolution.

In fact, Isaac Newton read Euclid’s Elements widely and he constructed his laws of motion using Euclidean geometry. In the Elements, Euclid deduced the theorems from a small set of axioms. He also wrote many works on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory and mathematical rigour. Furthermore, Euclid wrote a central early text on “Optics,” on the properties of light and works on “Data” and “Phenomena”.

His works on optics and Aristotle’s notion that light consisted of particles produced from a light source was translated by Early Arabic scholars from the classical Greek into Arabic, then eventually into the Latin-speaking world of modern European civilisation. Indeed, Isaac Newton’s work on optics and his theory of light being corpuscular (particle-like) was indirectly and directly influenced by both Euclid and Aristotle, including the notion of light exhibiting the properties of reflection, refraction and dispersion.

Unfortunately, Euclid is known to have written many other mathematical and scientific works that have since been lost. As with many classical Greek mathematicians, the details of Euclid’s life are mostly unknown, but he is believed to have lectured and taught in Alexandria at the prestigious Museum of Alexandria where the Greeks established a major research and teaching university in the field of science, mathematics and the humanities. It is also believed that Euclid founded a mathematical tradition in Alexandria. The city was founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC. Ptolemy, Alexander the Great’s trusted general, sponsored, commissioned and constructed the massive museum and research institution. Ptolemy became the first Hellenic King of Egypt, Ptolemy I.

Euclid is speculated to have been $among the Museum’s first scholars. There are numerous anecdotal stories about Euclid, who was described in old age as “a kindly and gentle old man”. The best-known anecdote about Euclid is when Ptolemy I, who was tutored by Euclid, asked whether there was a quicker path to learning geometry than reading his “Elements”, upon which Euclid replied with “Oh king, there is no royal road to geometry”. This should be a lesson to us all when studying any subject, as if we try to find a short-cut to learning rather endeavouring to study it thoroughly, we place ourselves in danger of not fully understanding the subject in depth, and, consequently, learning it properly.

In conclusion, Euclid’s work not only provided a logical framework for geometry but also demonstrated the power of logical deduction and systematic organisation in mathematics and science. Indeed, his method of systematic and logical analysis has proved indispensable in the way the modern world practises both mathematics and the Scientific Method!

I was recently talking to a friend who wants to become a primary school teacher. One lady came instantly to mind. “Have you heard of Maria Montessori?”, I asked. “She might prove to be a great inspiration to you,” I added. We then proceeded to send some beautiful quotes back and forth, like the one mentioned in the opening of this article.

Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori was born in August of 1870 into a middle-class family in Chiaravalle, a commune in the Province of Ancona, Italy. Her father, Alessandro Montessori, was an accountant in the civil service. Her mother, Renilde Stoppani, was an unconventional woman for her time. She was well-read and had a love of books. In 1886, Maria, against her father’s wishes and going against the social standards of the time, enrolled in an all-boys school to study engineering.

After graduating, her parents wanted her to become a teacher, but she was set on becoming a doctor. This would prove to be difficult, as it was a heavily male-dominated profession during this time. Nevertheless, Montessori would ignore these social mores and applied to a medical school but was rejected. Not at all dissuaded, she applied at the University of Rome, where she studied physics, mathematics and the social sciences. After two years, Maria graduated and then entered the Faculty of Medicine at the university, becoming the first woman in Italy to do so.

She was also the first woman to study at the university, too. She graduated from the medical school in July 1896. After spending a brief amount of time in Berlin advocating for the equal pay of women at the International Congress for Women, she began working as a surgical assistant in Rome. She was noted for the kindness and compassion she showed to her patients. Later, she began work at the psychiatric clinic at the University of Rome.

As part of her work at the clinic, she would visit Rome's asylums for children with mental disorders (as they were known back then), looking for patients to treat at the clinic. She describes how, during one such visit, the caretaker of a children's asylum told her with disgust that the children had grabbed crumbs from the floor after their meal. Maria realised that in such a bare, unfurnished room, the children were desperate for sensory stimulation and hand activities, and that this deprivation was exacerbating their condition.

She began to read everything she could about children with learning disabilities, focusing on the pioneering work of two early nineteenth-century Frenchmen, Jean-Marc Itard, who had made his name working with the 'wild boy of Aveyron,' and his student, Edouard Séguin. In 1897, Montessori's work with asylum children gained traction. The 28-year-old Montessori was invited to speak at the National Medical Congress in Turin, where she advocated the contentious theory that inadequate provision for children with mental and emotional disorders was a contributing factor to delinquency.

She expanded on this by speaking at the National Pedagogical Congress the following year, presenting a vision of social progress and political economy based on educational measures. She requested the establishment of medical-pedagogical institutes and specialised training for teachers working with special needs children. This concept of social reform through education grew and matured in Montessori's thinking throughout her life.

After some experience working with typical children too, Montessori opened a Casa dei Bambini, or a ‘Children’s House’, in January 1906. Deep within herself, she knew that this project was going to be groundbreaking in some way. She later wrote: “I had a strange feeling which made me announce emphatically that here was the opening of an undertaking of which the whole world would one day speak.” The opening gained some publicity, but many were doubtful it would achieve much.  She introduced a variety of activities and items into the children's environment, but only those that piqued their interest remained.

Montessori realised that children who were placed in environments with activities meant to assist their natural development had the ability to educate themselves. She eventually referred to this as auto-education. In 1914 she would write, “I did not invent a method of education; I simply gave some little children a chance to live. “The Casa dei Bambini's youngsters made amazing progress, and by the age of five, they were writing and reading. By the autumn of 1908, there were five Casa dei Bambini’s, four in Rome and one in Milan.

The news of Montessori's innovative approach travelled quickly, and guests arrived to see for themselves how she was accomplishing such success. Within a year, the Italian-speaking region of Switzerland began transforming its kindergartens into Casa dei Bambini, and the new teaching model expanded. Montessori taught her approach to approximately 100 students for the first time in the summer of 1909. Her notes from this period became her first book, which was published in Italy the same year and was translated into the United States in 1912 as The Montessori Method, attaining second place on the non-fiction bestseller list. Soon after, it was translated into twenty different languages.

The book has exerted significant influence in the sphere of education. A period of significant expansion in the Montessori approach ensued. Montessori clubs, training programmes, and schools arose all over the world, and Maria’s life became committed to propagating the educational method she had devised by offering courses and talks in a variety of nations. She visited America three times before and during World War One, where her unique approach to schooling sparked widespread interest. After a period of restraint in her successes and developments due to the rise of fascism and World War Two, Montessori travelled to England in the summer months of 1936. In 1939 she travelled to India, along with her son Mario, and would not return for seven years for a trip that was only supposed to last for three months. She was to give a training course and a lecture tour in Madras.

Their time in India proved to be extremely beneficial for Montessori, as it allowed her to expand her philosophy and approach to education. She met Gandhi, Nehru, and Tagore and was impressed by the spirituality of the Indians, as well as their generosity and kindness to her. Later, in 1949, she got the first of three nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize. One of her final major public appearances was in London in 1951, where she attended the 9th International Montessori Congress.

She died on May 6, 1952, at the family holiday home of her daughter-in-law in the Netherlands, with her son Mario by her side, to whom she left the legacy of her work.  The life of Maria Montessori is one of tenacity, courage and resilience. She was truly a fascinating woman. She left a legacy that is still so incredibly important and relevant today. This brief look at her work does not even do her incredible life and contribution to early education justice, but I hope it has inspired and educated you, dear reader.

“The child is both a hope and a promise for mankind.” ~Maria Montessori, Education and Peace, 1949   

Cicero was never troubled by false modesty, but the Roman people generally reflected his high opinion of himself. Although an outsider to the patrician-dominated political system, he eventually won election to the highest offices of state at the earliest permitted age. In 63BC, he quickly established himself as a national hero. When he discovered a plot to overthrow the republic, he swayed the senate to decree the death penalty to the conspirators.

Cicero was the greatest orator Rome ever produced. In a few sentences, he could move juries and crowds from laughter to tears, anger or pity. His renowned declaration ‘civis romanus sum’ (‘I am a Roman citizen’) came to encapsulate the defence of a citizen’s rights against the overbearing power of the state.

A century after Cicero’s death, Plutarch eulogised him as the republic’s last true friend. Idealistic, yet consistent, he was convinced that virtue in public life would restore the republic to health, in a time of civil unrest. Cicero, taking his lead from the renowned Athenian orator Demosthenes, Cicero delivered the philippics, a series of four orations against the tyranny of Caesar and against his faithful henchman Mark Antony. It was magnificent, although ultimately a forlorn cry for political freedom.

Having been taught by the famous Greek philosophers of the day, Cicero’s knowledge was as broad as it was deep and was unmatched in Rome. Cicero introduced to Rome Greek ideas that formed the basis of Western thought for the next two thousand years. He translated Greek works into Latin and endeavoured to Hellenise the Roman world, as he believed Greek ideas of democracy and virtue were far superior to Roman values that were mainly subservient to the Roman state.

He wrote to a friend that ‘my writings are transcripts…I simply supply words, and I have plenty of those.’ It is a humble statement for a man who made such an extraordinary contribution to Western philosophy; he translated Greek works, invented Latin words to explain untranslatable Greek words and concepts, and elucidated the main philosophical schools. His vast discourse amounted to an encyclopaedia of Greek thought.

In the end, Cicero’s inability to hold his tongue proved his undoing, when Octavian, Caesar’s adopted son and the future emperor ‘Augustus’ learned of Cicero’s remark about him- ‘the young man should be given praise, distinctions and then disposed of’- it spelled doom for Cicero. Octavian, Mark Antony and their staunch allies declared Cicero an enemy of the state.

Pursued by soldiers as he half-heartedly fled Italy, Cicero was brutally murdered, his head hacked off, and the hand with which he had written the offending speeches displayed in the Roman forum. ‘There is nothing proper about what you are doing soldier’, Cicero reportedly said to his assassin, ‘but do try to kill me properly’. The rhetorical skill of the statesman was undimmed to the last.

Ardent defender of the Roman Republic, principled and unbending in life, in death Cicero was dignified and fearless!

She became a widow at 25 and found herself without financial support in France. To support herself and her son and daughter, she began to write. Her first focus was on poetry, and she wrote about courtly love. For Christine, the change in circumstances following her husband’s death required her to “become a man” and accept the manly responsibility of providing for her family. In one of her works titled The Book of the Three Virtues, Christine emphasises the need for widows to be “constant, strong, and wise…not crouching like a foolish woman in tears and sobs without any defence, like a poor dog who cowers in a corner when all others attack.”

Her poetry became popular with notables of the French court, and she built up many literary connections, as well as maintaining those secured through her husband, who was a notary and royal secretary to the crown. Her poetry was known widely, even in the courts of Milan and England. In the Book of Body Politic, which was written between 1404 and 1407, Christine focuses on imparting virtues to a prince. She envisions a society as like a body, with each portion and limb performing a specific purpose and duty. Christine addresses first the prince (the head of the body), then the knights and nobles (the limbs) and finally the common people (the feet). Christine also wrote about the political warring, disunity, and unrest that was happening in France at the time. She also wrote about Joan of Arc in a piece that would be her final work.  

Christine was a prolific writer, and she wrote many letters, often writing to notable figures. She also wrote many letters in a literary fashion. Her letter entitled Epitre d’ Othea, or Othea’s Letter also known as Epistle of Othea to Hector, was also widely read in France and England and by men. She wrote about many topics that were typically considered only for male study, including warfare and chivalry. As well as writing, Christine oversaw the creation of beautifully decorated manuscripts, which she would gift to her French royal and noble patrons. One such work was given to Isabeau of Bavaria, Queen of France.

She was a true champion of her sex and was a defender of the female mind. I felt drawn to her during the exhibition and especially loved this quote that was translated in 1983:

“Neither the loftiness nor the lowliness of a person lies in the body according to sex, but in the perfection of conduct and virtues.” Christine de Pizan certainly left a legacy. Her work was owned by notable women, many of them queens, including Anne of Brittany and Queen Leonor of Portugal. She was able to publish her works and later wrote that she “would multiply this work in various copies throughout the world…so that it can be presented in various places to queens, princesses, and noble ladies…that through their efforts it may be circulated among other women.”

Have you heard of Christine de Pizan? Does this change your view of medieval women? Please feel free to leave a comment!

It is quite widely known that art can reduce stress and anxiety which is something so valuable during a child’s academic life. Artistic subjects also help young people develop key social skills such as empathy and collaboration. It helps them keep an open mind and accept the different views and ideas of others. One thing I learnt was to be resilient in the face of constructive criticism. Other studies have demonstrated how artistic subjects helps to raise academic achievement and improves attendance. It can also increase chances of enrolment in higher education. The more physical of the arts subjects have shown to have positive effects on motor development that is, physical, learned skills and hand-eye coordination.

Art itself teaches us that mistakes are ok and to embrace them. It encourages the use of the imagination, a part of the human mind that we should never forget about. The Arts Council England found that ‘schools that integrate arts across the curriculum (…) have shown consistently higher average reading and mathematics scores compared to similar schools that do not’. Partaking in the arts also offers opportunities for students they would not usually have such as museum and theatre trips and the opportunity to be involved in community events and projects.

I asked one young student who took a mixture of art and academic subjects at school for their take on the topic. This young lady is now studying art at university after taking art, chemistry and biology at A Level. She chose art because she feels it calms her and it allowed her to express herself creatively with different materials and techniques. She hopes that by pursuing art, she can learn more about the different art styles and techniques and one day open her own art studio. She did very well academically, but ultimately chose to follow her passions and dreams, which is the most important thing.

It is clear that incorporating artistic subjects in school curriculums are highly beneficial for students in a number of different ways. They can help to give them skills that could be highly valuable for their future careers, and perhaps even illuminate the path to it.

One teacher based in America created a wonderfully colourful ‘check in’ chart for her students. Each section of the chart has various phrases from ‘I’m great’ to ‘I’m not doing great’ and students are to place a post-it note in the area they associate with at the time. She uses this as a weekly check in on her students every Monday and has a chat about their past week. I thought this was a wonderful idea from this truly forward-thinking teacher. So why can’t we take note of our American brothers and sisters? I have adopted a similar (but not as wonderful) chart at the Academy. I then realised that students are often reluctant to talk about their feelings, but I want to try and change this. I have placed the chart in my office as I understand that it’s best to give some privacy to students who wish to talk about their day. I’m hoping that once they have spoken to someone about their issues or worries, they’ll feel confident enough to settle down to some learning. I am really hoping to incorporate this in the new academic term.

Another intriguing article has got me thinking about how schools deal with discipline, particularly on punishments such as detention. Is this really helping? One elementary school in Baltimore, USA has teamed up with the Holistic Life Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in the US which provides health programs such as yoga and mindfulness. Together, they have set up a ‘Mindful Moment’ programme for disruptive children. The programme teaches the children to ‘wind down and reflect’, as well as focus on their breathing in times of stress. Children having a difficult time are sent to the ‘Mindful Moment’ room where trained staff are there to help. They can also choose to go themselves at any time. Specialists spend around 5 minutes in a targeted discussion with the child and then a further 15 minutes going through mindfulness exercises. The programme is helping children to overcome any trauma they may have or are going through. It teaches them to be aware of it but enables them to release it. It seems that the programme goes so far as to affect their home life in a positive way too, as children are teaching their parents how to ‘breathe out’ their stress and tensions’. Local schools in surrounding areas who have also adopted the programme have seen a decrease in suspension rates and an increase in attendance.

At school, writing poetry helped me to cope with my worries and stresses; it was an escapism, as there was no real place to be calm at school. I felt like the teachers were too busy to hear my worries. I think having a creative hobby also helps. Keeping a journal may be beneficial. One can write all their worries and thoughts down and leave them there.

I am hoping that schools take note and invest more of their time into mental health and well being strategies and support for their students, as I feel this is vital in a young person’s life. School should be a safe haven, not somewhere they dread going!

1. Start your revision as early as possible. The earlier you start revising, the more likely your exam success because you are simply giving yourself more time to analyse the key areas of your subjects and reflect on these. It’s important to spend some time initially planning out a revision timetable for each subject that includes the time you should spend revising on each topic every day. It’s important to include regular breaks, about 15 minutes, otherwise you’ll stress yourself and burn out.
2. Decide the best environment for your revision. Some people prefer to revise at home in their bedroom with complete silence, some with music, but some prefer the public library. You also need to figure out when you learn best, which may be in the morning or at night- each person has different requirements. You must plan your revision accordingly.
3. Work out what type of learner you are. Everyone learns in different ways. Some prefer spider diagrams, some mnemonic aids (revision memory aids), some revision cards and others actively make notes and I suggest you reflect on the information that you write about in order to understand it fully. Some students find that mobile apps help with revision techniques or YouTube quite helpful, so you can try some of these as part of your revision strategy.
4. Be strict with yourself. Although revision is not something you may look forward to, you have to be strict with yourself. Stick to it on a regular basis, otherwise it would be a complete waste of time. It’s important that you don’t have any distractions and to keep to your revision timetable. Revising should be a serious endeavour if you’re going to have any exam success!
5. Practice past exam papers regularly. It’s important to do as many exam papers as possible, as this would be an opportunity to apply and test your knowledge and become familiar with exam techniques and enable you to identify any topics/areas you still need to revise. Practicing exam papers is a very important key to exam success!
6. Seek advice from your teacher/tutor! Finally, don’t feel embarrassed or shy to ask your subject teacher or tutor for advice or help in any areas that you are struggling with, because a good teacher/tutor should always be approachable and only too happy to help.

Very best of luck!

The Japanese schooling system is quite similar to what we have here in England. There are public and private schools available and public school is compulsory. Pupils attend elementary school or shōgakkō, which is designed to develop the pupils’ minds, bodies and personalities.

Respect for one another is a key aspect of a pupil’s education. Older children often take younger children in their neighbourhood to school as well as younger siblings. This is so that the children can develop a sense of responsibility and bond with all ages. It is important that they can work together and live harmoniously. At the beginning of every school day, one pupil will stand at the front of the class and say that they look forward to working with one another. This brings a sense of togetherness; everyone is working as a team and no one is to be singled out.

As the pupil’s progress through the latter part of their time at elementary school, more subjects are added to the curriculum, such as home economics and computing as well as the usual subjects such as mathematics and Japanese. They are also encouraged to join after-school clubs such as cookery or craft, in which a high percentage of them attend.

Meals are eaten within the classroom and the pupils will clean up afterwards together. Lunch will also be served by the pupils. They will also take it in turns to clean the entire school. Cleaning is seen as a vital part of life and teaches the children not to dislike work. This is known as Gakko Soji or ‘school cleansing.’ This practice has roots in Buddhist teachings which stress the importance of keeping the body and its surroundings clean. Uniforms are not often worn at this stage in a child’s education, but shoes are required to be changed once entering the school building. Outdoor shoes are changed into special indoor ones and some classes require no shoes at all. This is so no dirt or grime from outdoors is brought into the school. Animals are often kept on the school grounds which pupils look after. This is so the children have an opportunity to connect with nature and helps them to develop a respect for living things. 

Japanese secondary school is split into two, lower secondary school and upper secondary school. Many students attend private as well as public schools to get extra help. Secondary schools are much more regimented in comparison to primary schools. Uniforms are worn and these include both an indoor and outdoor uniform. In many schools, this comprises of a military style for boys and a sailor style for girls. This is a reflection of the many wars that saw many officers become teachers. This is also reflected in the style of teaching. Students are taught to respect and to honour and value the distance between teacher and student. At the beginning of the day, students have 35 minutes of silent reading time, where they can read whatever they like. This quietens the students and gets them focused for the day ahead.

Whilst researching, I came across a quote from a book about Japanese education titled ‘Looking into the lives of Children’ which I think perfectly sums up the whole ethos…’the ultimate goal of Japanese education is to foster the student’s ability to become a fully integrated and productive member of Japanese society.’

Let us now head over to the schooling system in the Netherlands. Primary school or largere school begins from the age of 4 to 12 and is similar to schools in Japan on the idea of working together and sharing responsibility. There is emphasis on the strengths of each pupil. Meetings with teachers often involve pupils from different age groups. The learning process does not stop with the pupils. Teachers are also encouraged to constantly develop their skills too. One other focus is that there is a good level of special needs support. Overall, the Dutch system focuses on directness, equality, independence, and active learning. It emphasises the importance of following the rules and encourages interaction in class. It is quite common for students to wear uniform at primary school.

The secondary school system is somewhat complicated. Secondary schools (voortgezet onderwijs) is split into three different routes. These routes are based on the individual student’s academic level and interests and they can only enter one of the three. VMBO is known as Preparatory Secondary Vocational Education. This is 4 years of study focused on practical knowledge which is then followed by vocational training which is completed at around age 16.

The second route is HAVO or Senior General Secondary Education. This is for a period of 5 years and prepares students to study a bachelors degree at universities that offer applied science courses. This is completed at around the age of 17.     

The third route is VWO and is for a 6-year course that is focused on theoretical knowledge. It prepares students to study for a bachelors degree at a research university. It is completed at age 18.

I suppose there are many positive and negative aspects to a system like this. It may be a positive thing that students are able to focus on what they want to do in the long term and get properly prepared for university or vocational study, but are students able to know what they want to do by the age of 12? It may put unnecessary pressure on students, but in any case, Dutch children/students are rated as being amongst the happiest.

In summary, it seems that both educational systems do well to educate the young and prepare them for the wider world and is ultimately a reflection of their culture and society. In all evidence, each way of teaching shapes the younger generation into hard workers and respectful individuals. And so, in short, I hope this article leaves you feeling enlightened and uplifted.

Over millennia, we have built sporadic civilisations whose survival depended on our capacity to control our environment and our self-destructive tendencies as an animal species. A revolution in human thinking and a new way of understanding ourselves and our environment occurred some 2500 years ago, when a few inspirational, bold thinkers started to view our world in a unique and objective way. These people dismissed the old Gods and belief systems that generations of societies had adopted and offered us a renewed hope for our survival as a species. They taught us to consider events as having natural causes (they called such events ‘phenomena’) that we could rationalise. They told us that we should have no fear of any irrational or superstitious beliefs, but to have faith in our ability to control our own destiny. These few, enlightened individuals created mathematics, science and all the other different subjects, arts and ethics that underpins our modern Western values.

They taught us to rise beyond our basic needs and overcome our self-destructive animal instincts and thus become better individuals. We like to refer to them as the Ancient Greeks and they still continue to inspire us and to strive to understand ourselves. They believed that only then can we have hope for humanity to survive as a species, provided we ‘achieve the highest element in ourselves’, as Aristotle wrote (384BC-322BC). 

Bertrand Russell was also an essayist, historian and winner of the 1950 Nobel Prize for literature for championing “humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought”. When Russell was eleven years old, his brother introduced him to the work of the Greek mathematician Euclid, which he described as “one of the greatest events of my life, as dazzling as a first love”. However, his lifelong work in mathematics was matched by his social and political concerns for peace and freedom of speech.

Born to a British aristocratic family, one with highly unorthodox overtones, including an atheist father and a feminist grandmother, he became known for his keen interests in political and social theory. He avidly read and critically studied many classical Greek works, especially all of Plato’s works, including the “Republic”. At various stages in Russell’s life, he considered himself to be a liberal, a socialist and a pacifist. During World War One, Russell was dismissed from Trinity College for his pacifist activities. In 1917, he played a significant role in the “Leeds Convention”, a gathering of a thousand “anti-war socialists”, and was later convicted and imprisoned for publicly protesting the entry of the United Kingdom into the war.   

Russell was enthusiastically supported by his fellow faculty members, and this helped to reinstate him at the university in 1919, but he resigned shortly afterwards to devote himself to exploring communism in Russia and China. In 1920, he visited Lenin in Russia and spent an hour with him, and later said he regarded him as a great man who fought for social justice in his country.

In the years before the onset of World War Two, Russell taught the science of power at the London School of Economics and Philosophy at the University of Chicago and at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Russell opposed the rearming of Britain against Nazi Germany; however, he concluded that Hitler would be a permanent threat to democracy and by 1943, he declared that war was always a great evil, but in some particularly extreme cases, it may be the lesser of two evils.

By the end of the Second World War, he wrote his famous “History of Western Philosophy”. Furthermore, Russell played a substantial role in diffusing the Cuban Missile Crisis during October of 1962 when Soviet Russia deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba after it feared that the United States would invade Cuba, following the successful revolution by Fidel Castro in 1959, after he overthrew a dictatorship that reigned as the government between 1952 and 1959.

In an attempt to calm the increasing tensions between the United States and Soviet Russia, Russell wrote to Chairman Khrushchev and received assurances from him that Russia would not make reckless decisions in regard to the crisis. Bertrand Russell therefore devoted considerable time and energy to the fight for disarmament and to prevent the possibility of a nuclear war. In later life, Russell was a passionate anti-war advocate and campaigner for global nuclear disarmament. Russell was often involved in mass demonstrations in extreme old age and gained admiration from a new generation of anti-war demonstrators.

Sadly, the British judiciary system took the extraordinary step of sentencing the 89-year-old Russell to a second period of imprisonment. When he died in 1970, Russell was far better known for his anti-war campaigns than as a philosopher of mathematics. However, Russell will be remembered as both a great intellectual thinker and a moral philosopher for the common good of humanity and world peace.

When Cassini was 25, the University of Bologna made him a professor of astronomy. In 1669, at the invitation of King Louis XIV of France, Cassini became a part of the Royal Academy of Sciences in Paris where he helped design the Paris Observatory. Cassini would not return to Italy, and he became a French citizen in 1673, changing his name to Jean Dominique. Although he made significant contributions to science in Italy, he made even greater ones during his life in France. He discovered four of Saturn’s moons and discovered the gap between the rings of Saturn, which is now called the “Cassini Division” in 1675. He also discovered Jupiter’s Red Spot, independently of Dutch physicist and mathematician Christiaan Huygens. His observations of spots on the surface of Jupiter allowed him to measure Jupiter’s rotational period.

In 1666, after similar observations of Mars, he calculated a value for the rotational period of Mars. Two years later he compiled a table of the positions of Jupiter’s satellites, which was used in 1675 by the Danish astronomer Ole Romer, who established that the speed of light is finite. Cassini also measured the size of the solar system by using the distances of each object from Mars.

In engineering, Cassini wrote several works on flood control, and he used a wide range of experimental techniques in applied hydraulics. He also began work on a project to create a topographic map of France in the 1670s, which was the first topographic map of an entire country.   

Cassini died in Paris, France in 1712, after making many significant contributions to astronomy. In 1997, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA), launched the Cassini-Huygens orbiter and space probe. The mission proved successful and uncovered the wonders of Saturn and its moons. In 2017, it made its final mission and plunged into Saturn’s atmosphere, sending back to Earth amazing information along the way! 

His controversial ideas challenged the divine origin of the Hebrew Bible, the nature of God, and the earthly power wielded by religious authorities both Jewish and Christian alike. He was often called an atheist by his contemporaries although nowhere in his work does Spinoza argue against the existence of God. His theological studies were inseparable from his thinking on politics, and he is grouped with thinkers like Hobbes, Locke, Leibniz, and Kant and he established a form of political writing called secular theology.

Spinoza questioned the authenticity of the Hebrew Bible and the nature of the Divine when he openly defied rabbinic authorities in 1655-1656. Consequently, the Jewish religious authorities expelled him permanently from the congregation and he was shunned by Jewish society at age 23, even by his own family. After expulsion, Spinoza lived an outwardly simple life as an optical lens polisher, but he was a dedicated clandestine philosopher and shared his writings with a circle of supporters. His works were banned by the Dutch Reformed church and his books were added to the Catholic Church’s index of Forbidden Books.

Spinoza’s philosophy and writings include metaphysics, epistemology, political philosophy, ethics, philosophy of mind and philosophy of science. It earned Spinoza an enduring reputation as one of the most important and original thinkers of the seventeenth century and deeply influenced Albert Einstein and other modern thinkers and scientists.

Apollonius was influenced from the earlier work of Euclid and Archimedes and developed the fundamental notions that form the basis of modern analytical geometry. Apollonius also worked on many other topics, including astronomy and mechanics. Most of his works have not survived, but his works have been referenced by other great mathematicians, including Pappus of Alexandria. Furthermore, he developed a hypothesis to explain the motion of planets and is believed to have contributed in other areas of astronomy. Consequently, the Apollonius crater on the Moon was named in his honour. Apollonius is generally considered among the greatest mathematicians of antiquity and modern times.

Throughout her reign, Catherine collected a vast array of art pieces by many famous European artists, which, at the time of her death, amounted to some 4,000 pieces. The collection is now housed at the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, once the Winter Palace. She was often depicted as Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, the arts, and strategy in war (equivalent to the Greek goddess Athena). Her court became the epicentre of cultural life in Russia in the late eighteenth century. A native of Prussia (in an area now part of Poland), she dedicated herself to learning the Russian language. After a coup to depose her husband, Catherine declared that she would do her best to help her people, vowing to serve them with goodness and care.

She vowed to turn Russia’s people into citizens through the improvement of laws and education and she built hospitals and schools. Scholarships to foreign countries were paid for by the state and she made sure there was a secondary school in every province. Above all, she made sure that these schools offered a secular education and one that was not influenced by the church. The schools offered a well-rounded education, with the focus on mathematics, science, history, geography and languages. In 1764, the Moscow Orphanage, also known as the Foundling Home, was established, and offered to help educate the very poor.  Catherine also believed that women should have the same access to education as men, however, the opportunity was not available to absolutely every woman.

One of the first schools she established was the Smolny Institute for Noble Girls (or Maidens) in Saint Petersburg (pictured), founded in 1764. This school was only open to girls of noble birth, and they were taught singing, painting, and science. Women of low birth, Catherine thought, should be taught differently from those of higher birth. To her, education was not a means to improve one’s station, but to create model citizens of the station they were born into. This way, the whole population was to be well educated at every level, and willing to serve their state. This is of course, very different to how we view education today.

Catherine the Great was a forward-thinking monarch and attempted to change attitudes towards education in her adopted country. Although her reforms are seen as very limited by today’s standards, they were revolutionary for her time, and they were nevertheless created with good intentions. Her artistic interest and patronage have left its mark on Russia, and many beautiful neoclassical buildings still stand today.

Plato was an innovator of the written dialogue and dialectic forms in philosophy. He also critically analysed the nature of knowledge and the application of mathematical principles in understanding the cosmos. Consequently, Plato’s Academy became the ancestor of the modern university. Plato wrote many works that have survived and have been read by many great thinkers, philosophers, scientists and mathematicians through the ages. Plato taught that the world that appears to our senses is in some way defective and filled with error, and that there is a more real and perfect realm that is eternal and changeless that exists beyond space and time. Among his most famous books is the ‘Republic’, which describes an ideal state that governs a society that is truly just, honest, free of corruption and crime.

In the ‘Republic’, Plato describes the importance of educating people so that they can lead better lives for themselves, the community and for society. Pluto famously uses the allegory of the cave to explain the importance of education. In the allegory, he likens ignorant people to prisoners chained in a cave all their lives, facing a blank wall. These people watch shadows projected on the wall from objects passing in front of a fire behind them and they give names to these shadows. The shadows are the prisoner’s reality but are not accurate representations of the real world and we perceive these inaccurate forms through our senses. Plato, using Socrates as the narrator, explains that a well-educated person or scientist is likened to a prisoner that breaks free from his chains and escapes the cave to see the sunlight, which represents a higher level of reality. Once this person returns to the cave and tells the prisoners of his observations, they refuse to believe him and consider him mad. Plato reminds us of the dangers of ignorance and how easy it is to manipulate and brain-wash the ignorant, and only through knowledge can we produce a better and just society.

Plato greatly influenced Western philosophy and knowledge by developing its many branches, including epistemology, metaphysics, ethics and aesthetics. He also inspired the notion that true knowledge of reality can only be acquired through mathematical contemplation of abstract forms. Modern theoretical physicists, past and present, are essentially Platonists, including Paul Dirac, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger, Albert Einstein, Linus Pauling, Steven Hawking, Roger Penrose, and many others. Plato also inspired Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers, including Rene Descartes, Johannes Keplar and Isaac Newton, and his legacy and writings together with Aristotle, have profoundly influenced Western philosophers and scientists alike.  

Euclid was active as a geometer and logician and is now considered the ‘father of geometry’. He is chiefly known for the ‘Elements’, a thirteen-book treatise which established the foundations of geometry that deeply influenced and dominated the field of mathematics and science until the early 20th century and is still used in the teaching of geometry in schools and colleges. In the elements, Euclid deduced the theorems of mathematics and geometry from a small set of axioms and prepositions. He also wrote works on perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory, the treatment of data, optics, the property of light, mirrors, and phenomena.

Euclid’s ‘Elements’ has been the second most widely read book throughout Western history, after the Bible! Although there are many lost works, Euclid’s existing works have deeply influenced the whole of Western science and mathematics. For example, the works of Gallileo, Copernicus, Keplar and Newton’s work on optics and the prepositions used in deriving the laws of motion. Euclid is generally considered with Archimedes as among the greatest mathematicians of antiquity and the modern world.  

Aristotle was a student at the Academy, and he would later go onto found his own Academy, the Lyceum also in Athens. Plato taught using a combination of lectures and seminars as well as a method involving a dialogue between teacher and student, which is something Dr Sergis has adopted in his own teaching in his own academy. Plato believed in teaching by observation, not merely by inner reflection. During Plato’s times, entrance to the Academy was free. Following Plato’s death in 348/7 BC at the age of 81, his nephew Speusippus succeeded the Academy as head. The Academy continued its operation for nearly 200 years after Plato’s death, even after the Roman general Lucius Cornelius Sulla, conquered Athens and destroyed the Academy by fire in 86 BC. During the late Roman period, the Christian Roman Emperor Justinian I closed it once and for all in 529 AD.

Excavation works in the late 1920s through to the 1940s have unearthed the structure of the Academy and it is now an archaeological site that people can visit. The famous fresco by Renaissance painter Raphael (1483-1520), known as the School of Athens (1509-1511) depicts Plato and Aristotle in the centre engaged in an intellectual conversation as they walk through a grand academy. Plato and Aristotle had differing views on philosophy, with Plato depicted pointing upwards, suggesting that we must study the heavens and the laws of nature to develop our theories using pure mathematical thinking, whereas Aristotle, with his palm to the ground, believes in a philosophy based on sight and one that is grounded on the human experience through observation by experiments. Despite the destruction of the building, Plato’s philosophy survived and has lived on to influence the ages. It was reborn in Neoplatonism and sparked off the Renaissance. It has been fundamental in the development of Western philosophy and theoretical physics in the modern world.

Pappus deeply influenced both Renaissance and Enlightenment thinkers and mathematicians of the 15th, 16th, and 17th centuries, including Pacioli, Leonardo da Vinci, Descartes, Keplar, Bernoulli, Euler, Gauss, Newton and Fermat. Pappus greatly influenced the development of 3D geometry and analytical geometry including the introduction of three axes mutually at 90 degrees to describe three-dimensional space: the x, y and z axes that modern mathematicians use in advanced mathematics today. Pappus’ discoveries led Descartes to the application of the x, y and z coordinates in expressing functions in both 2D and 3D geometry.

Pappus was also instrumental in discovering methods for determining areas and volumes of geometrical curves and polyhedra. Amongst his many mathematical discoveries, he discovered major theorems that are now named after him, which involve the areas and volumes generated when mathematical planes are rotated about geometrical axes. Pappus’s outstanding achievements in mathematics, together with the great work of Archimedes, contributed to the development of calculus, including integration. Furthermore, Pappus’ centroid theorem that describes the surface areas and volumes of solids generated mathematically have contributed to the development of modern mathematics and mechanics, and his theorems are now taught in university degrees in pure and applied mathematics.

These birds were not only a symbol of knowledge and they have been interpreted differently in many cultures. Owls have been depicted in the Libyan Palette, which shows a settlement represented by an owl figure. In old English tales, the owl, more specifically the Barn Owl (Tyto alba), was regarded as a symbol of doom or death. These owls were also thought to predict the weather and a screeching owl meant a storm was on the way. Owl eggs were used for medicinal purposes in a variety of ways to treat many illnesses. This was also a belief shared by the ancient Romans. In Hinduism, the goddess of wealth and prosperity Lakshmi, is shown with a white barn owl. In Native American culture, the owl was linked to prophecy and in some tribes, it represented the god of death. In Africa, owls were usually associated with magic and were also believed to be messengers of the dead. In ancient Egypt, they were associated with hunting and hunting prowess but also with death. The figure of the owl is imbued with magic and superstition and its nocturnal nature is no doubt the source of so many of the myths. Owls represented many different things to many cultures throughout time and this article has only touched upon a few. We are not sure if Einstein our mascot has any prophetic powers and if he does, he is sure keeping them quiet!  

In the sixteenth century Aristarchus was an inspiration for the Polish astronomer Nicolas Copernicus’s work. In his manuscript of Six Books Concerning the Revolutions of the Heavenly Orbs (1543), Copernicus cited Aristarchus as an ancient authority who had espoused the motion of the Earth. However, Copernicus later crossed out this reference and Aristarchus’s theory was not mentioned in the published book. When the church was hostile towards Copernicus’s heliocentric theory (the view that the Earth orbits the sun), Copernicus was quoted to have said on his deathbed that he merely repeated what the ancient Greeks had said.

Aristarchus’s only extant work is On the Sizes and Distances of the Sun and Moon and is the oldest surviving geometric treatment of this problem. In a clever geometric construction based on lunar eclipses, he obtained values for the sizes of the sun and moon. He found the moon’s diameter to be between 0.32 and 0.40 times the diameter of the Earth. This was amazingly accurate, as the diameter of the moon compared with that of the Earth is 0.27 using today’s accurate measurements. Later, Greek astronomers, especially Hipparchus and Ptolemy, refined Aristarchus’s method and arrived at very accurate values for the size and distance of the moon.

Aristarchus’s mathematical and experimental astronomical methods enabled other Greek astronomers to build upon his methods to make other important discoveries. This included the phenomenon of precession, which is the rotation of the Earth around a common axis whilst rotating itself around its own axis (rather like a gyroscope), discovered by the Greek astronomer Hipparchus about 125BC.

It is now widely believed that without the astounding achievements of the great Greek astronomers and mathematicians, including Archimedes and Erastothenes, who accurately determined the circumference and diameter of the Earth, the discoveries by mathematicians and scientists during the Renaissance and Enlightenment, including the achievements of Galileo, Kepler and Newton, would unlikely to have been possible. Isaac Newton’s admission: ‘I stood on the shoulders of giants’ is an apt description of the unique contribution of the ancient Greeks in the development of modern science.  

She frequently met with some of the great religious reformers of her time, including Martin Luther and John Calvin. She was also a patron of Leonardo da Vinci, who died in a Chateau owned by Marguerite’s brother, King Francis I. A friend to the poor and unwed mothers, she established hospitals, alms-houses, and orphanages. She wrote incessantly; plays and poems as well as religious works whilst still attending to her duties at court. Like Elizabeth I, Marguerite was tutored by scholars from a young age and learned Greek, Latin, Italian, Spanish and later German and Hebrew. She also studied scripture and classical philosophy, often reading the works of Plato, Cicero and Virgil.

Marguerite was particularly drawn to poetry and as a young girl would often practise and share short rhyming verses with her brother. In 1509, Marguerite was married to Charles, Duke of Alençon, her first husband. He was not as learned as her and preferred the hunt to books. Marguerite was notably upset and wept often during the wedding ceremony. However, Marguerite was able to have some of her books from the libraries of Amboise, Blois and Cognac as well as some orders for other books from European printers.

It was during this marriage that Marguerite began her philanthropic work and in the early 1520s she persuaded her brother to found Le Hôpital des Infants Rouges (Red Children Hospital) in Paris for orphaned and abandoned children. The hospital was so named because of the red clothing the children were given to wear. Once opened, Marguerite would continue to be involved (as with all of her philanthropic work) with the hospital and in particular made sure that the rules of hygiene and diet were strictly adhered to.          

Marguerite’s works were numerous. She was a model queen and a great hero of her sex. There is much to be read about this fascinating figure, and I encourage all to go and read about her. Even after she died, many wrote and spoke of her qualities. The French biographer of the sixteenth century Pierre de Bourdeille would say that “she was a great princess, but in addition to all of that, she was very kind, gentle, gracious, charitable and a great disperser of alms and friendly to all.” In other words, a truly model queen!

Hypatia continued with her father’s program, which was a determined effort to preserve the Greek mathematical and astronomical heritage in extremely difficult religious times. Hypatia lectured widely in mathematics, astronomy and philosophy to students from her home. Her lessons also included methods of constructing an astrolabe, a kind of portable astronomical calculator. Hypatia donned an academic outfit and is described as being articulate and logical in her speech and actions, as well as public-spirited, and most of the city of Alexandria gave her a suitable welcome and accorded her special respect.

Theophilus, the archbishop who destroyed the last of Alexandria’s great library, was succeeded in 412 AD by his nephew, Cyril, who continued in his uncle’s hostilities towards other faiths. With Cyril, the head of the main religious body of the city government, a fight began over who controlled Alexandria. Under such religious fanaticism, Hypatia, who wasn’t Christian, became a target of Christian fanatics. One day on the streets of Alexandria in Egypt, in the year 415 or 416 AD, a mob of Christian zealots led by Peter the Lector, accosted Hypatia’s carriage and dragged her from it and into a church, where they stripped her and beat her to death with roofing tiles. They then tore her body apart and burned it.

Hypatia, almost alone and virtually the last Greek academic, stood for intellectual values, ascetic Neoplatonism, the crucial role of the mind, and the voice of temperance and moderation in civic life, as one of her commentators, Deakon wrote. She may have been a victim of religious fanaticism, but Hypatia remains an inspiration to women of science and mathematics, even in modern times.

Aristotle bestrode antiquity like an intellectual colossus. No man before him had contributed so much to learning, and no man after him could aspire to rival his achievements. Aristotle studied at Plato’s Academy for about 20 years as Plato’s student and colleague then left the Academy after Plato died to open his own school and research centre in Athens, called the Lyceum. At the Lyceum, he taught the more specialised technical subjects to his students during the day and in the evenings he gave public lectures to a general audience. Aristotle taught the young Alexander the Great from the age of 13 for 4 years after an invitation by King Philip II of Macedonia, Alexander’s father. Aristotle also taught the children of Macedonian nobles.  

Little is known about Aristotle’s character and personality. He came from a rich family. He suffered from poor digestion and is said to have been spindle-shanked. He was a good speaker, lucid in his lectures, persuasive in conversation, and he had a mordant wit. His philosophical writings are impersonal and suggest he prized both friendship and self-sufficiency as a scientist. Although we may not hope to know Aristotle as we might know Albert Einstein or Bertrand Russel, as he lived too long ago, one thing however is certain. Throughout his life, Aristotle was driven by one over-mastering desire- the desire for knowledge. His whole career and his every known activity testify to the fact that he was concerned before all else to promote the discovery of truth and to increase the sum of human knowledge.

Aristotle’s biological works and research are regarded as a stupendous achievement. His inquiries were conducted in a genuine modern scientific spirit, and he was always ready to admit ignorance where evidence was insufficient. He maintained that when there is a conflict between theory and observation one must trust observation and that theories are to be trusted only if their results conform with the observed phenomena. Aristotle wrote a very large number of books in almost every field of human knowledge, from political theory through to ethics, physics, mechanics, astronomy, mathematics, zoology and biology: choose any field of research and Aristotle laboured on it! To quote Aristotle in one of his surviving works, the Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle argues that ‘happiness, the state of mind in which humans realise themselves and flourish best, consists in a life of intellectual activity.’ Aristotle asks, ‘is not such a life too godlike for a mere human to sustain?’; he answers: ‘no, for we must not listen to those who urge us to think human thoughts since we are human, and mortal thoughts since we are mortal, rather we should as far as possible immortalise ourselves and do all we can to achieve the finest element in us, for if in bulk it is small, in power and worth it is far greater than anything else.’ Aristotle has influenced many Western thinkers since the renaissance, including Galileo, Kepler, Newton, Darwin, Einstein and Bertrand Russel, and continues to influence us even now!

Elizabeth was educated by some of the brightest minds from Cambridge university whom she shared with her brother Edward, who was due to be king. They were mainly brought up at the palace of Hatfield and Elizabeth would enjoy her time there and no doubt would remember her days there with fondness. Elizabeth was born with an appetite for knowledge and was extremely intelligent. This was encouraged and celebrated throughout her life. Her governess, Kat Ashley, was her first tutor and would teach her the foundations of her education, such as English language and grammar.

As a royal child, Elizabeth would have had access to a wide-ranging education that included Mathematics but also theology, history, rhetoric, logic, philosophy, and music as well as languages. Roger Ascham became Elizabeth’s tutor for languages. Elizabeth spoke six languages including Welsh, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish and Latin. Ascham noted and applauded her ability to learn languages with ease and for her excellent memory.

Elizabeth also practised the common pursuits of a lady of her time and station, such as sewing and embroidery, of which she was very accomplished. She also practised dancing, riding, and archery. Her political education was for a time left out and it was reserved for her brother, Edward but she was later to become politically astute as an adult. Katherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of King Henry the eighth, Elizabeth’s father, was a learned woman herself and
encouraged the education and saw to the well-being of all her stepchildren.

Elizabeth often showcased her skills by gifting translations of texts and embroidered items to those who she cared for and respected. The most notable example, and one that still survives, was given to Queen Katherine Parr by an eleven-year-old Elizabeth in 1544. The book was a translation of Queen Marguerite de Navarre’s ‘The Miroir or Glasse of the Synneful Soul’.

Elizabeth I left behind forty-five years of dutiful and skilful governance of her realm. The arts flourished under her, and it seems, for a time religious divisions were mediated. A child, who once was dubbed illegitimate and of no use to her father, became a glorious and powerful ruler, without a king or prince by her side. There can be no doubt that her shrewdness, intelligence, and love of knowledge and the arts, as well as her marvellous education would earn the respect and adoration of her people. It is no wonder that her reign is often referred to as ‘the golden age’.

Bravery
Edanzoo.com lists the great lion (Panthera leo) as their example and is the perfect animal which displays this trait. They are courageous hunters and the leaders of the pack and are not afraid to defend themselves and other lions. They are fierce and go after what they want without hesitation. I have selected the dog (Canis lupus familiaris) as my choice of brave animal as our canine friends have been by our sides for thousands of years as our loyal protectors and comforters. Dogs have played many important roles during wars and still do today. The French trained dogs to search for the wounded on the battlefield during World War One.

Determination
From edanzoo.com we have the spider (Araneae) as our embodiment of determination. The spider shows persistence and determination when creating their webs and will get right back to work after it gets destroyed. The webs are strong and so beautifully created.

Teamwork
Ants (Formicidae) are listed on the website as one of the best examples of teamwork in the animal kingdom. They are fabulous nest builders, and they prove that great things can be achieved through collaborative effort and make sure that ‘no one is left behind’. There are many other animals that use teamwork to survive. Bees (Anthophila), Meerkats (Suricata suricatta) and Wolves (Canis lupus) all work together based on mutual trust, loyalty and through collaboration.

Patience
Leopards (Panthera pardus) are listed as one of the most patient animals. The leopard waits for his prey as long as he needs to and doesn’t spoil his opportunity to strike at the right time. Other animals who also possess the precious gift of patience include crocodiles (Crocodylidae) and owls (Strigiformes).

Adaptivity
Many animals have adapted over millennia to suit their environment, but some alter their behaviours, especially for hunting, according to the change of seasons and environment. Snow leopards (Panthera uncia) are capable of hunting over long distances in their snowy habitats and have specially shaped paws for walking and running on snow and ice. The Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex) defies gravity by climbing and standing on the steepest cliff faces to avoid predators, literally rising above the enemy!

Organisation
Organisation is so important, especially for our students and something we encourage them to practice from the outset. Bonobo apes (Pan paniscus) and orangutangs (Pongo) use sticks and rocks when digging for food and save these tools in memorable places and take them with them whilst on the move.

Sustainability
This might be obvious, but animals have sustainable habits that us humans can really learn from. Camels (Camelus) can go for weeks without water and their bodies are so incredibly well-adapted to conserving water in their arid habitats. They conserve water as much as possible and eat plants sparingly to gain extra water when they can. Alpacas (Vicugna pacos) have cushioned feet that do not destroy the soil of their habitats and when feeding on plants, they eat carefully so as not to kill the plant altogether.

The animal kingdom is an inspiration to us in so many ways and it is a great honour that we live alongside these fascinating creatures! We can truly learn a lot from them!

You can read the article that inspired this one here:
https://endanzoo.com/blogs/news/10-lessions-that-our-children-can-learnfrom-animals

The Ancient Greeks taught humanity how to think rationally and objectively, and so helped lay the foundations of our modern understanding ofthe world. One such person is Democritus, a classical Greek scientist and philosopher who is now viewed by many as being the true ‘Father of Modern Science’. Among his many achievements, in his theory of the universe and his conviction that all phenomena can be explained rationally by what he called the laws of nature, which can be discovered empirically and expressed mathematically. Democritus lived in around 460 to 370BC. Most sources claim he was born in Abdera, located in the northern Greek province of Thrace. Democritus’ father was wealthy and after he died, Democritus used his inheritance to finance a series of travels to distant countries to feed his thirst for knowledge. He discovered a number of mathematical theorems and wrote extensively on a wide range of subjects. He is especially famous for his atomic theory and believed that the universe is made up of tiny particles he called atoms (Greek άτομα, indivisible) that move randomly in empty space or the void, and that atoms collide with each other and associate by hooking onto each other through the forces between them, and that the atoms make up all the different manifestations of matter. In his words:

“The world is made of two parts: the full (pleres, stereon) and the empty, the vacuum (cenon, manon). The fullness is divided into small parts, particles called atoms (atomon, that cannot be cut, indivisible). The atoms are infinite in number, eternal, absolutely simple; they are all alike in quality but differ in shape, order and position. Every substance, every simple object is made up of those atoms, the possible combination of which are infinite in an infinity of ways. The objects exist as long as the atoms constituting them remain together; they cease to exist when their atoms move away from one another.
The endless changes of reality are due to the continual aggregation and desegregation of atoms”.

Democritus wrote that the universe contained an infinite number of worlds and asserted that ‘nothing’ is actually something and deduced that the light of stars explained the Milky Way’s appearance. Democritus wrote eloquently on subjects as diverse as the origin of human beings, artistic perspective, mathematics, anthropology, poetry, physics and atomic theory. He was called the ‘laughing philosopher’ as he apparently mocked human folly and those who were superstitious or believed in the Gods!

Bethune was born in South Carolina in 1875 to two former slaves. The end of the American Civil War gave the black American population an opportunity to gain an education. Bethune attended boarding school; the Scotia Seminary in North

Carolina from which she graduated in 1894. She then wanted to go into missionary work but found that no church was willing to sponsor her. She later decided to go into education and taught in her home state.

Later she would move to Florida with her then husband and young son and would work at a church, selling insurance on the side. Her marriage would fail, but she became even more determined to better herself and the society in which she
lived. In 1904, she went on to open the Daytona Beach Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls; a boarding school which is now the Bethune-Cookman university.

Bethune was heavily involved in issues surrounding race and gender and after women gained the vote in 1920, Bethune started many organisations which would hold voting drives; often becoming the target of many racial attacks. In 1935, she
founded the National Council of Negro Women which she would remain the president of until 1949. She was also vice president of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People from 1940 until 1955.

Bethune was an active individual during the Second World War, serving as a special assistant to the secretary of war for the Women’s Auxiliary Corps. She also organised blood donation drives for the war and encouraged many African
American women to help in canteens around the country. She even helped to establish a training school and recruited many black women for army officer training. The National WWII Museum in New Orleans said of Bethune;

(she) ‘was a passionate educator and presidential advisor. In her long career of public service, she became one of the earliest black female activists that helped lay the foundation to the modern civil rights movement.’

Bethune would continue to help improve most aspects of the lives of her fellow black Americans and encourage them to do the same. In her last will and testament written in 1955, Bethunewrote:

“I leave you hope. The Negro’s growth will be great in the years to come. Yesterday our ancestors endured the degradation of slavery, yet they retained their dignity. Today, we direct our strength toward winning a
more abundant and secure life. Tomorrow, a new Negro, unhindered by race taboos and shackles, will benefit from more than 330 years of ceaseless struggle. Theirs will be a better world. This I believe with all my heart.”

Bethune was an extraordinary lady with a strength that is admirable. Her wonderfully eventful life was honoured by a statue in Washington D.C in 1974.

In Croton, he had a significant impact as an influential teacher; he taught a doctrine of mathematical unity in the universe, believed in reincarnation, became an important political figure, made dangerous enemies and eventually had to flee to another coastal city, Metapontum, in 500BC, where he died. 

During his thirty years in Croton, some of the men and women who gathered to sit with him began to ponder and investigate the world. While experimenting with lyres and considering why some combination of string lengths produced beautiful sounds and others did not, Pythagoras, or others who were encouraged or inspired by him, discovered that the connection between the lyre string lengths and human ears are not arbitrary or accidental. The ratios that underlie musical harmony make sense in a remarkably simple way. In a flash of extraordinary clarity, the Pythagoreans found that there is a pattern and order hidden behind the apparent variety and confusion of nature and it is possible to understand it through numbers.

Tradition has it that, literally and figuratively they fell to their knees upon discovering that the universe is rational. The Pythagoreans embraced this discovery to the extent of allowing numbers to lead them, during and after Pythagoras’ lifetime, to some extremely far-sighted notions about the world and the cosmos being governed by mathematical laws. Although many people know Pythagoras only in connection with the so-called Pythagorean theorem, which he and his students proved, the pillars of our scientific thinking and tradition, which is the belief that the universe is rational and that there is unity in all things, and that numbers and mathematics are a powerful guide to the truth about nature and the cosmos, hark back to the thinking of this legendary scholar and his followers.

In February 1988, these earlier reforms were disposed of altogether. The new reforms included compulsory vocational study programs and plans for an integrated secondary school. Schools also had a significant change in the way the curriculum was taught. In his 1992 paper in an investigation into the effects of perestroika on Soviet education, Ben Brodinsky offers many extremely valuable insights. He noted that student uniforms were no longer required and the dialect between student and teacher became much more fluid with less rigidity and formality, and a two-way learning process emerged where the students were able to ask questions. 

Previously, children from early on were encouraged to be “labour-loving” and to glory in their work and were geared up for professions in industry and trade, office administrative work as well as routes into teaching and medicine amongst others. Teachers were also allowed to now speak the “truth” about the Soviet past and were “permitted to investigate and learn about the crimes and mistakes of past Soviet regimes”. This is an important takeaway. Shouldn’t all countries be learning about the real “truths” of their past? However, at the time of these reforms, it was clear that the true benefits were slow to materialise. Brodinsky noticed that “teaching in Soviet classrooms remains traditional- even as the winds of change sweep all around it”. 

Teachers were aware that although it was all well and good to have such reforms, they were still clinging onto the old styles of teaching they were used to without the right educational tools and guidance to help them on this new path. Some simply lacked the confidence to do so. Teachers were more open to discuss these issues and noted that drastic changes in education were still needed in some areas. However slow, the face of education was changed forever. Russia now can boast of one of the most advanced educational systems with an extremely high literacy rate. 

“If you are not moving forward, you are moving backward.”

― Mikhail Gorbachev

Sources
Brodinsky, B., ‘The Impact of Perestroika on Soviet
Education’, The Phi Delta Kappan, vol.73 (1992), p.379

https://www.britannica.com/topic/education/Perestr...

https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/perestroik...

Archimedes was most proud of his discovery of a method for finding the volume of a sphere- he showed that the volume of a sphere is two-thirds the volume of the smallest cylinder that can contain it. At his request, the figure of a sphere and a cylinder was engraved on his tombstone. 

In addition to mathematics, Archimedes worked extensively in the development of mechanics and hydrostatics. Archimedes actually created the discipline of hydrostatics and he used it to find the equilibrium position for various floating bodies. Almost every schoolchild knows Archimedes as the absent-minded scientist who, on realising that a floating object displaces its own weight of liquid, leaped from his bath and ran naked down the streets of Syracuse shouting, “Eureka!”, “Eureka!”- meaning, “I have found it!”

Archimedes laid down the fundamental laws of mechanics, discovered the laws of levers and calculated centres of gravity for various flat surfaces and solids. In the excitement of discovering the mathematical laws of the lever and various machines, he is said to have declared, “Give me a place to stand and I will move the Earth!”

Although Archimedes was apparently more interested in pure mathematics, he was an engineering genius. He invented super catapults that showered the Romans with rocks weighing a quarter of a ton or more, giant parabolic mirrors that set the Roman ships ablaze and fearsome mechanical devices with iron “beaks and claws” that reached over the city walls, grasped the ships, and spun them against the rocks. The Roman general Macellus called Archimedes a “geometrical Briareus (a hundred-armed mythological monster) who uses our ships like cups to ladle water from the sea”. Archimedes held the Roman fleet at bay for more than three years before a Greek traitor allowed the Roman Army into the city one evening. Contrary to Macellus’ specific orders, the 75 year-old Archimedes was killed by a Roman soldier when he cast a shadow on a mathematical problem that he was working on; the annoyed Archimedes yelled, “Don’t disturb my circles”, which made the soldier fly into a rage and cut the old man down.

Although Archimedes wrote many books, only nine works have survived to the present day. His treatise, ‘The Methods of Mechanical Theorems’, was discovered in Constantinople in 1906. In this treatise, Archimedes explains how he made his discoveries using reasoning based upon the integral calculus of modern times! Mathematicians are now becoming increasingly aware, that Archimedes actually discovered integration more than 1800 years before Newton and Leibniz had. Furthermore, it is suspected that the Antikythera mechanism, a complex differential mechanical system, that was the first ever computer discovered in a sunken ship at the bottom of the sea, off the island of Antikythera, is believed to have been invented by Archimedes to calculate solar and lunar eclipses and constructing calendars based on the relative position of stars, and may also have been used for navigation!

His visits to Rome in the form of pilgrimages with his father inspired in him a love for the Latin word but also instilled in him moral and religious teachings which would later heavily influence his rule as king. Alfred translated many important Latin texts into English. He may have also been inspired by Charlemagne, king of the Franks, who had also revived learning in his own realm a while earlier. 

By many accounts, Alfred was a brave and intelligent man who valued wisdom and knowledge. He won many tough battles and was admired for his insight and courage on the battlefield and his ability to be a straightforward tactician.

The knowledge lost from the destruction of the monasteries by the Vikings led to the decline in literacy rates in the kingdom. Alfred, spurred on by his belief that all free Englishmen should be literate, set up a school at court which educated his sons, as well as the nobles and others of lesser birth. Many scholars from across Europe went to teach there.
Considered a compassionate and fair ruler, Alfred is the only English king to have the title ‘great’.

He was born in Basel, Switzerland and was the son of a Protestant minister who had himself studied Mathematics.

Euler’s genius developed early. He attended the university of Basel, where he obtained a BA and master’s degree in Philosophy. Although he studied theology, the lure of Mathematics was too great, and he did mathematical research.

His collected works formed many volumes, but it is believed that much of his work has been lost. What is astonishing is that Euler was blind for the last 17 years of his life, which was one of his most productive periods!

Euler’s flawless memory was phenomenal and his ability to solve problems in his head was beyond belief. He worked out major problems on lunar motion that baffled Isaac Newton. He was the first mathematician to use Calculus to solve problems in Physics.

He made major contributions to almost every branch of mathematics as well as the theory of optics, planetary motion, electricity, magnetism, and general mechanics. It was Euler who suggested mathematicians use the small Greek letter π for the circular constant, an irrational number for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter that was first discovered by the classical Greeks. 

‘Logic is the foundation of the certainty of all the knowledge we acquire.’ ~Leonhard Euler

The Japanese schooling system is quite similar to what we have here in England. There are public and private schools available and public school is compulsory. Pupils attend elementary school or shōgakkō, which is designed to develop the pupils’ minds, bodies and personalities.

Respect for one another is a key aspect of a pupil’s education. Older children often take younger children in their neighbourhood to school as well as younger siblings. This is so that the children can develop a sense of responsibility and bond with all ages. It is important that they can work together and live harmoniously. At the beginning of every school day, one pupil will stand at the front of the class and say that they look forward to working with one another. This brings a sense of togetherness; everyone is working as a team and no one is to be singled out. 

As the pupil’s progress through the latter part of their time at elementary school, more subjects are added to the curriculum, such as home economics and computing as well as the usual subjects such as mathematics and Japanese. They are also encouraged to join after-school clubs such as cookery or craft, in which a high percentage of them attend.

Meals are eaten within the classroom and the pupils will clean up afterwards together. Lunch will also be served by the pupils. They will also take it in turns to clean the entire school. Cleaning is seen as a vital part of life and teaches the children not to dislike work. This is known as Gakko Soji or ‘school cleansing.’ This practice has roots in Buddhist teachings which stress the importance of keeping the body and its surroundings clean. Uniforms are not often worn at this stage in a child’s education, but shoes are required to be changed once entering the school building. Outdoor shoes are changed into special indoor ones and some classes require no shoes at all. This is so no dirt or grime from outdoors is brought into the school. Animals are often kept on the school grounds which pupils look after. This is so the children have an opportunity to connect with nature and helps them to develop a respect for living things.

Japanese secondary school is split into two, lower secondary school and upper secondary school. Many students attend private as well as public schools to get extra help. Secondary schools are much more regimented in comparison to primary schools. Uniforms are worn and these include both an indoor and outdoor uniform. In many schools, this comprises of a military style for boys and a sailor style for girls. This is a reflection of the many wars that saw many officers become teachers. This is also reflected in the style of teaching. Students are taught to respect and to honour and value the distance between teacher and student. At the beginning of the day, students have 35 minutes of silent reading time, where they can read whatever they like. This quietens the students and gets them focused for the day ahead.

Whilst researching, I came across a quote from a book about Japanese education titled ‘Looking into the lives of Children’ which I think perfectly sums up the whole ethos…’the ultimate goal of Japanese education is to foster the student’s ability to become a fully integrated and productive member of Japanese society.’

Let us now head over to the schooling system in the Netherlands. Primary school or largere school begins from the age of 4 to 12 and is similar to schools in Japan on the idea of working together and sharing responsibility. There is emphasis on the strengths of each pupil. Meetings with teachers often involve pupils from different age groups. The learning process does not stop with the pupils. Teachers are also encouraged to constantly develop their skills too. One other focus is that there is a good level of special needs support. Overall, the Dutch system focuses on directness, equality, independence, and active learning. It emphasises the importance of following the rules and encourages interaction in class. It is quite common for students to wear uniform at primary school.

The secondary school system is somewhat complicated. Secondary schools (voortgezet onderwijs) is split into three different routes. These routes are based on the individual student’s academic level and interests and they can only enter one of the three. VMBO is known as Preparatory Secondary Vocational Education. This is 4 years of study focused on practical knowledge which is then followed by vocational training which is completed at around age 16.

The second route is HAVO or Senior General Secondary Education. This is for a period of 5 years and prepares students to study a bachelors degree at universities that offer applied science courses. This is completed at around the age of 17.

The third route is VWO and is for a 6-year course that is focused on theoretical knowledge. It prepares students to study for a bachelors degree at a research university. It is completed at age 18.

I suppose there are many positive and negative aspects to a system like this. It may be a positive thing that students are able to focus on what they want to do in the long term and get properly prepared for university or vocational study, but are students able to know what they want to do by the age of 12? It may put unnecessary pressure on students, but in any case, Dutch children/students are rated as being amongst the happiest.

In summary, it seems that both educational systems do well to educate the young and prepare them for the wider world and is ultimately a reflection of their culture and society. In all evidence, each way of teaching shapes the younger generation into hard workers and respectful individuals. And so, in short, I hope this article leaves you feeling enlightened and uplifted.

However, Hippocrates together with other classical Greeks, also pioneered the Scientific method as he believed that all causes of disease and phenomena have natural rather than supernatural causes and he advised that we should be careful with our observations before making any rash conclusions. In other words, Hippocrates echoed Thales’ (Greek scientist/mathematician, 624/623 –548/545 BC) belief that it isn’t what one knows, but how one knows!

A quote from Hippocrates: "Holy things are for holy men…life is short and the Science long, observations can be fleeting…" Meaning we should be patient in order to arrive at the truth of any theories we make. 

Our teaching strategy at the Academy is evidence-based and so uses the ethos of the classical Greeks and hence the Scientific Method. Consequently, we endeavour to prove and provide evidence for both mathematical theorems and scientific theories, and we stress the importance of conducting experiments to support all scientific theorems and general knowledge.

Our motto: ‘Education is our motivation and learning is your inspiration’.

I visited the Dugdale Centre in Enfield and made my way up to the top floor, which houses the Enfield Archives. These archives are free to use. A kind, bespectacled man asked me what he could help me with and after telling him, he began to pull out boxes and boxes of photographic records and books and of course, maps. With historical research, particularly of this nature, it is important to work backwards. Map records show there was no building before 1850. There were plenty of open spaces and green areas back then. 

The Academy building was probably built in 1907/8 and was occupied by a Mr Charles Hailstone, a baker and confectioner who was born in the small village of Wilcot in Wiltshire in 1859. The business he owned here in Enfield was a family run one, with five of Mr Hailstone’s eight children working alongside him. They owned a shop with some seating, and this was located where the barber’s shop is today, just on the Southbury Road, situated before the Academy building. If you take a look outside the shop today, very little has changed. Take a walk outside the Academy and you can still see faint reminders of its past. Doorways have been bricked up, and the beam to which the shop’s sign would have hung is still visible today. 

The building the Academy is situated in would have been the shop’s bakehouse. This is where all the bread and cakes would have been made. They would have then been transported to the shop front. Many independent bread making businesses such as Hailstone and Sons (as it was known), may have also provided a bread delivery service, using carts similar to the ones pictured. C. Ungerer and C.A Breyer were bakers of the Edmonton area. Customers would order their bread in advance and it would be delivered to their house in the morning.

The garages for the residents, which are situated at the back of the Academy, may have been the stables for the horses needed to cart of loaves or supplies to and from the bakehouse, or simply, they could have been store houses. There is some speculation that the flour needed to make the bread and cakes were also made on site, and the building shows good evidence for this, as the shape of the roof in the laboratory would suggest. It may have used flour machines, which were in use during the Industrial Revolution of 1820-1840. 

I would add that the interior seen today would have been quite different in Mr Hailstone’s day. Most of the classrooms are later constructions. The interior would have needed space for ovens and tables on which to knead the dough. It is impossible to say what exactly the Academy would have looked like inside without any original floor plans or photographs of the interior, which sadly I have yet to uncover.
The bakehouse would have been a very hot and busy place to work in, and Mr Hailstone and his assistants would have had a physically exhausting job, which would have started at 11pm at night. So, it’s no wonder many bakers did not live past the age of 42. 

Fast forward to the early 1930’s and the bakery was still going, but this time Mr Hailstone’s youngest son, Frederick was the head of the business. He was married to Dorothy and they had one son, Charles, in 1928. They lived at 14 Craddock Road, which is just around the corner from the Academy. 

Fast forward again to the late 1960’s and the bakery was known as Marian Bakers. There are no records of a bakery in the late 1970’s, so we can assume business ceased sometime after the bakers changed hands.
We are quite proud of the history of our building. Bakeries were a vital part of daily life throughout the ages, as bread has been the staple food of many diets, both for the rich and poor. So, it must have been an honour for Mr Hailstone to have served his community in this way. 

Some independent bakeries are still around, and whilst researching the local area, I came across Holtwhites, an independent artisan bakery situated in Enfield, to get a sense of how our shop could have functioned 110 years ago. The shop is very quaint from the front and is very neatly kept. The staff were friendly, and before I began to snoop around, I had to sample some of the goods. I purchased a speciality cappuccino, which had a very unique taste. The coffee beans used are sold in store and are also made by an independent company, the flavour was incomparable to any coffee I have tried. Flavour notes included honey and other spices. I also purchased a cinnamon biscuit, made fresh in the shop. They sell a range of breads, cakes and cheeses as well as sauces, spices and some confectionary items. Customers were mostly local, striking up conversation with one of the owners over their usual choice of bread. This experience really gave me a sense of what it may have been like in Hailstones’ quaint little shop around the corner.

Qualifications: A person with a degree will have specialist knowledge in the area that they claim to teach.

Patience: Teaching requires an abundance of patience and dedication to students. A good tutor will gladly encourage his or her students and praise them for their efforts.

Personality: A good tutor should always inspire his or her students, have a positive attitude and always be approachable.

Flexibility: A tutor should alter their methods or style of teaching according to the student’s own pace and learning requirements.

Proximity: It would be ideal if the tutor lives or works near you as this would ensure he or she will show up promptly for sessions.

Feedback: A good tutor should always be prepared to give regular feedback to the parents on the progress of students.

Creativity: It’s essential that the tutor motivates students and encourages their creative talent in order for them to achieve their best in exams.

Affordability: Tutors will charge anywhere between £15 to more than £80 per hour. The more specialist the tutor, the higher the price. It’s best to visit the tutor and ask what he or she is offering and to find out their style/methods of teaching. Cheaper prices don’t necessarily mean good quality teaching.

We all have experienced periods of stress at school and have all got our own ways of dealing with it. It should never stop us from trying to achieve our goals and actually enjoy our school life. So, are schools really beginning to take note of this? I have recently come across some intriguing articles that have got me thinking. 

One teacher based in America created a wonderfully colourful ‘check in’ chart for her students. Each section of the chart has various phrases from ‘I’m great’ to ‘I’m not doing great’ and students are to place a post-it note in the area they associate with at the time. She uses this as a weekly check in on her students every Monday and has a chat about their past week. I thought this was a wonderful idea from this truly forward-thinking teacher. So why can’t we take note of our American brothers and sisters? I have adopted a similar (but not as wonderful) chart at the Academy. I then realised that students are often reluctant to talk about their feelings, but I want to try and change this. I have placed the chart in my office as I understand that it’s best to give some privacy to students who wish to talk about their day. I’m hoping that once they have spoken to someone about their issues or worries, they’ll feel confident enough to settle down to some learning. I am really hoping to incorporate this in the new academic term.

Another intriguing article has got me thinking about how schools deal with discipline, particularly on punishments such as detention. Is this really helping? One elementary school in Baltimore, USA has teamed up with the Holistic Life Foundation, a non-profit organisation based in the US which provides health programs such as yoga and mindfulness. Together, they have set up a ‘Mindful Moment’ programme for disruptive children. The programme teaches the children to ‘wind down and reflect’, as well as focus on their breathing in times of stress. Children having a difficult time are sent to the ‘Mindful Moment’ room where trained staff are there to help. They can also choose to go themselves at any time. Specialists spend around 5 minutes in a targeted discussion with the child and then a further 15 minutes going through mindfulness exercises. The programme is helping children to overcome any trauma they may have or are going through. It teaches them to be aware of it but enables them to release it. It seems that the programme goes so far as to affect their home life in a positive way too, as children are teaching their parents how to ‘breathe out’ their stress and tensions’. Local schools in surrounding areas who have also adopted the programme have seen a decrease in suspension rates and an increase in attendance. 

At school, writing poetry helped me to cope with my worries and stresses; it was an escapism, as there was no real place to be calm at school. I felt like the teachers were too busy to hear my worries. I think having a creative hobby also helps. Keeping a journal may be beneficial. One can write all their worries and thoughts down and leave them there.
I am hoping that schools take note and invest more of their time into mental health and well being strategies and support for their students, as I feel this is vital in a young person’s life. School should be a safe haven, not somewhere they dread going!

Over millennia, we have built sporadic civilisations whose survival depended on our capacity to control our environment and our self-destructive tendencies as an animal species. A revolution in human thinking and a new way of understanding ourselves and our environment occurred some 2500 years ago, when a few inspirational, bold thinkers started to view our world in a unique and objective way. These people dismissed the old Gods and belief systems that generations of societies had adopted and offered us a renewed hope for our survival as a species. They taught us to consider events as having natural causes (they called such events ‘phenomena’) that we could rationalise. They told us that we should have no fear of any irrational or superstitious beliefs, but to have faith in our ability to control our own destiny. These few, enlightened individuals created mathematics, science and all the other different subjects, arts and ethics that underpins our modern Western values.

They taught us to rise beyond our basic needs and overcome our self-destructive animal instincts and thus become better individuals. We like to refer to them as the Ancient Greeks and they still continue to inspire us and to strive to understand ourselves. They believed that only then can we have hope for humanity to survive as a species, provided we ‘achieve the highest element in ourselves’, as Aristotle wrote (384BC-322BC).

It seems like schools are already realising the benefits of technology in the classroom and are already implementing online textbooks and are still using interactive whiteboards. Students are encouraged to get to grips with the online world at school from early on and the skills they learn never leave them.

I came across the term ‘educational technology’ recently, but what exactly is it? Well, it is the use of digital technology to help aid learning. It is a whole field of technology devoted to the development and application of these educational tools. Its core areas include software, hardware and other IT processes which are there to help encourage and facilitate the learning process.

Awareness and implementation have already begun around the world, with the USA taking the lead. The UK is also incorporating some of these new tools. Some examples of this innovative technology include Cloud computing, which is now taking on an essential role in both schools and the workplace. Other educational areas being transformed by technology include Language, Science and Social Studies.

Mobile learning is becoming increasingly more popular due to its convenience and accessibility. Tablet based learning is on the rise and it is something that we have considered here at the Academy for a while. I would also personally recommend students in sixth form and university to purchase a tablet, as they are far more portable and can be fairly cheap. Students can easily build a virtual learning environment through the use of apps. You can easily access online textbooks and papers, which may especially be useful for degree level students.

With so many young people who buy into the virtual world, one wonders whether games will be big in the realm of education. This may help get students engaged and properly absorb what they are learning. I believe some corporations have now clocked onto this. Something which has always fascinated me and something that may develop many uses in a learning environment is 3D printing. This is done through computer software and an image or object is created using this design and a very high-tech bit of machinery. Another area that particularly fascinates me is that of wearable technology, which is basically technology that you can wear on or even in your body. These include Smart watches and Occulus virtual reality headsets and microchips.

So, with all that being said, how does this affect the Academy? We have thought of incorporating interactive whiteboards, but as I and countless other students have seen, they are costly and breakdown easily. Our trusty standard whiteboards never break down! So, I believe it is all about balance. Like many businesses, we must try and keep up with the current. The main thing I think technology can help us with is the variation of activities we can do in the classroom. We can further open up the world of learning to every single student, and that is a wonderful thing.

We may increase our use of technology in the classroom in the future, although we still firmly believe that you cannot beat the traditional book! That won’t stop us from trying to improve our services and improve the experience our students have with us.

1. Manual
2. Semi-skilled and
3. Skilled