Tuesday 19 October 2010
Monday 4 October 2010
Sunday 12 September 2010
Fever Ray at the Brixton Academy - September 2010
Fever Ray in 5 words from Matt:
Haunting
Ethereal
Laser
Light
Fest
Fever Ray at the Brixton Academy - September 2010
Fever Ray in 5 words from Shonagh:
Unexpected
Visceral
Hypnotic
Grin-inducing
Mysterious
Fever Ray at the Brixton Academy - September 2010
Fever Ray in 5 words from Catherine:
Dark
Laser
Beats
Burning
Bright
Tuesday 7 September 2010
Goodbye to the Diploma in Creative & Media
I went to the final meeting of the Diploma in Creative & Media Diploma Development Partnership yesterday, the Chair of the Higher Education Group more accurately described it as a wake. The imminent death of this, and the other new Diplomas for 14-19 year olds was the elephant in the room that was only ever hinted at with a raised eyebrow or a sly remark. But there's no getting away from the fact that the coalition Government has effectively killed off their implementation.
I've been involved with the development of the Diploma in Creative & Media in a variety of roles over the last 3-4 years, primarily whilst I worked for one of the Sector Skills Councils charged with developing it. Like a number of Government initiatives before it (GNVQ, AVCE, Applied GCSEs and A-levels), this new qualification was aimed to provide students with an applied learning experience that had genuine parity with their better loved siblings, the GCSE and A-level. They were also intended to kill off BTEC, well established qualifications in both Further Education and schools, which are beyond Government control owned as they are by Pearson (the publishing multinational who own the FT, Penguin and many others).
In my view, although the intentions of all those involved were right and good, there were simply too many stakeholders who felt they owned the project, except for certain key moments when it seemed nobody owned the project. QCA, DCSF, the three SSCs and the Awarding Organisations were just some of the key organisations involved, and it was clear that a number of them felt that they knew better than the rest. I'm not so sure that they did... The assessment methodology that was forced onto those developing the qualification, for example, was simply inappropriate.
The coalition Government has opted to remove the entitlement to study the programme that Labour had intended to use to drive up demand for the Diploma. This means that students across England no longer have a right to study the Diploma, which means in turn that market forces will now determine whether or not the qualification will live or die. Given the complexity of the qualification, and the issues with certain components in particular (the Functional Skills for example), it seems clear that the qualification will slowly, painfully disappear.
Which in many ways is a shame. The development of the qualifications was a genuine collaborative effort between a number of organisations and a number of sectors, including Higher Education, Further Education, schools and employers and that this effort now potentially goes to waste is disappointing. The cost of developments to date must be enormous, £521 million across all the the Diplomas was the last figure I heard, and I suspect this doesn't include a further vast amount spent in terms of cash and time by organisations supporting and delivering the qualifications.
Finally, and most importantly, it's a terrible shame for the students who have already taken it or are in the process of taking it. What will they do now with their qualification, and what will they do with them in the future when it's no more than a ripple in the ocean of educational policy?
Ed Balls said that the Diplomas would become the 'qualification of choice', unfortunately for the students who have taken it, perhaps they made the wrong choice.
I've been involved with the development of the Diploma in Creative & Media in a variety of roles over the last 3-4 years, primarily whilst I worked for one of the Sector Skills Councils charged with developing it. Like a number of Government initiatives before it (GNVQ, AVCE, Applied GCSEs and A-levels), this new qualification was aimed to provide students with an applied learning experience that had genuine parity with their better loved siblings, the GCSE and A-level. They were also intended to kill off BTEC, well established qualifications in both Further Education and schools, which are beyond Government control owned as they are by Pearson (the publishing multinational who own the FT, Penguin and many others).
In my view, although the intentions of all those involved were right and good, there were simply too many stakeholders who felt they owned the project, except for certain key moments when it seemed nobody owned the project. QCA, DCSF, the three SSCs and the Awarding Organisations were just some of the key organisations involved, and it was clear that a number of them felt that they knew better than the rest. I'm not so sure that they did... The assessment methodology that was forced onto those developing the qualification, for example, was simply inappropriate.
The coalition Government has opted to remove the entitlement to study the programme that Labour had intended to use to drive up demand for the Diploma. This means that students across England no longer have a right to study the Diploma, which means in turn that market forces will now determine whether or not the qualification will live or die. Given the complexity of the qualification, and the issues with certain components in particular (the Functional Skills for example), it seems clear that the qualification will slowly, painfully disappear.
Which in many ways is a shame. The development of the qualifications was a genuine collaborative effort between a number of organisations and a number of sectors, including Higher Education, Further Education, schools and employers and that this effort now potentially goes to waste is disappointing. The cost of developments to date must be enormous, £521 million across all the the Diplomas was the last figure I heard, and I suspect this doesn't include a further vast amount spent in terms of cash and time by organisations supporting and delivering the qualifications.
Finally, and most importantly, it's a terrible shame for the students who have already taken it or are in the process of taking it. What will they do now with their qualification, and what will they do with them in the future when it's no more than a ripple in the ocean of educational policy?
Ed Balls said that the Diplomas would become the 'qualification of choice', unfortunately for the students who have taken it, perhaps they made the wrong choice.
Brighton Beach - 4th September
Went to a lovely wedding in Brighton last Saturday, took this photo after fish & chips and champagne on the beach. Really beautiful light.
Wednesday 1 September 2010
Manchester - August 2010
Compare and contrast with the Manchester Central Library, the circular building above. A really beautiful building.
Manchester - August 2010
Here's a better photo of it, one that I 'borrowed' from elsewhere on the web.
Manchester - August 2010
Had a fantastic weekend in Manchester catching up with university friends. It's fair to say that the city has changed enormously since I was last there. It was undergoing an amazing amount of redevelopment in the three years that I lived there, and it seems that the frenetic pace of change hasn't let up.
The architecture in the city is superb. An outstanding mixture of old victorian red-brick buildings and new, sympathetically designed glass and steel structures. A walk out form the city proper to Salford brought me to the new Civil Justice Centre, which took my breath away. I only had my iPhone with me, so the picture above doesn't do it any justice whatsoever. It was designed by Denton Corker Marshall, so check out their website for more information and better photos: www.dentoncorkermarshall.com
Wednesday 25 August 2010
Monday 23 August 2010
Top 5 gigs of 2010 in no particular order
Phoenix at the Roundhouse
French indie hipsters, doing groovy indie guitar music
John Butler Trio at the Hammersmith Apollo
Australian hippy blues guitar freak plus amazing rhythm section
Powderfinger at the Brixton Academy
Farewell tour for the Australian pub-rock champions
Mumford & Sons on the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury
Teary-eyed love-in for the Crouch End multi-instrumentalist folk monsters
The Black Keys on the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury
Rock. Done the right way.
French indie hipsters, doing groovy indie guitar music
John Butler Trio at the Hammersmith Apollo
Australian hippy blues guitar freak plus amazing rhythm section
Powderfinger at the Brixton Academy
Farewell tour for the Australian pub-rock champions
Mumford & Sons on the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury
Teary-eyed love-in for the Crouch End multi-instrumentalist folk monsters
The Black Keys on the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury
Rock. Done the right way.
Monday 16 August 2010
Harrier and Jaguar at Tate Britain
The wonders of engineering. Not the airplane, but the means by which it's suspended from the roof of the gallery.
Harrier and Jaguar at Tate Britain
The other thing that makes these pieces so effective is the way they create new views, the manner in which the angles and geometry of the two airplanes interact with the space around them.
Harrier and Jaguar at Tate Britain
I finally got around to visiting Tate Britain to check out 'Harrier and Jaguar' by Fiona Banner. It's the juxtaposition of the old and new, and the incongruity of these modern, hard-edged forms within the old and calm space of the Tate that really makes these pieces work.
Friday 13 August 2010
Your Black Horizon
I should point out that I saw 'Your Black Horizon' when it was being set up. Have a look at the next three photos to get a better idea of what it was like when open. Here's a link to Olafur Eliasson's website where you can find out more about it: www.olafureliasson.net/works/your_black_horizon.html
Monday 9 August 2010
Fever Ray at the Kentish Town Forum - 2009
Fever Ray at the Kentish Town Forum - Gig of the Year 2009. I'm seeing her again on the 4th September at the Brixton Academy and I'm expecting nothing less than genius. Incredible artist, incredible album, incredible live show.
Villagers at Glastonbury 2010
Villagers on The Park Stage. For once I can say that I saw someone before they were big.
Glastonbury 2010
The obligatory shot of some Glastonbury flags. A useful navigation tool, or at least they would be if there weren't so many of the damn things.
Glastonbury 2010
Stevie Wonder on the Pyramid Stage on Sunday night. I tell you what, this young man definitely has a future in the music industry.
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