Are schools just another public service, powerless to the sway of government, or are they the key to empowering local communities? Melvyn Roffe searches for the answer in a small town in Denmark – and learns an important lesson from 16th-century Scottish history.

Read more: https://www.tes.com/magazine/article/how-schools-can-empower-local-communities

Oxford interviewer drops Shakespeare for Harry Potter

Oxford interviews are renowned for tough questions that tease out the reasoning skills of young applicants, but now they will need to know more about Harry Potter than Hamlet.

Shakespeare has been dropped from interviews in favour of JK Rowling by one academic concerned about penalising candidates unfamiliar with the Bard’s canon. A list of sample questions has been published to reassure sixth-formers called for interview this week.

Read more: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/oxford-interviewer-drops-shakespeare-for-harry-potter-t6fgg2p2c#