Is our education system fit for purpose?

Abstract

I have come to dread the question that often raises its head at social events “so what do you do?” As a secondary school headteacher this was often the start of a very short conversation, once you had declared your hand, the response was frequently something along the lines of “I could never do that” or the old favourite asking me what I did with my thirteen weeks holiday every year. As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of a charity championing design and technology, the conversation that follows usually starts with “wasn’t that metalwork, woodwork and cooking?”