This is the first full week of exams at our NSWLearning exam centre and it started me thinking about our relationship with exams as home educators. As somebody who did his teacher training in the 1970s, I am old enough to remember the great counter-cultural educational movements of the 1970s Read more…
We were recently asked why we sometimes use old out of print textbooks for some of our courses. It was a simple question, genuinely asked and it prompted me to mull things over and make some notes to explain out thinking better. Those notes morphed into an email and now Read more…
Let’s be honest, nobody likes the big head at the party, blowing his own trumpet, continually turning every conversation round so that it is an opportunity to talk about what he has done. However, there are times, like job interviews for example, where blowing your own trumpet has some merit. Read more…
A few years back, I had a conversation with a mum whilst her son was sitting an exam here at the NSWLearning exam centre. We got into discussion about success and failure, in particular what we as parents measure as success in our home education adventure. As we chatted, I Read more…
Home education is an incredible adventure! It provides us, as parents, with a remarkable opportunity to enjoy our children’s company and grow wise as we all learn together. Like all genuine adventures, however, there are times when pressure builds and the whole thing feels like a lot less fun that Read more…
In a recent blog, we explored the incredible flexibility that home education allows families. In the context of IGCSEs, this flexibility allows us as parents to spread exams out so that our children can sit a range of subjects in different exam sessions. This is a great idea and one Read more…
JS Bach is one of my favourite classical composers. Born in Germany in 1685, from an early age his passion was music. At the age of 14 he won a prestigious choral scholarship whilst when he was 18 he was appointed organist in Arnstadt, a position that actually provided him Read more…
I recently returned from the EurECA Conference in Vevey, Switzerland. Apart from the memorable setting, overlooking Lake Geneva and looking at the peaks of the Dents du Midi in the distance, and the practical theme – How should Christians teach? – I will remember it for the insights of David Read more…
From the very first, we have always regarded NorthStarWorldwide as a complementary education process. We are not a school and we are not in the business of replacing parents; what we attempt to do is to come alongside parents (and more latterly schools) and provide assistance in those areas where Read more…
A few days ago I spent an hour chatting with a friend about her 17-year-old son who is struggling with A levels. She wanted my advice, although if truth be told, I think she needed to tell her story to somebody much more than hear what I had to say. Read more…