Category Archives: Education

Afghanistan: NATO’s 10 year feminist experiment

Posted on October 7, 2011 by Samira Ahmed

This is some of the further detail from my feature for today’s Guardian that was not in the final edit. It makes reference to two major  reports on women and Afghanistan put out this week by Action Aid and  Oxfam. … Continue reading →

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The Swingeing (cuts) 80s: Lessons from The Ghost Town Generation

Posted on June 30, 2011 by Samira Ahmed

They were playing the jaunty TV theme tune to “Jeeves and Wooster” on Monday night when guests walked into the Financial Times summer party at Lancaster House near Green Park in London. It reminded me of how much I enjoyed … Continue reading →

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High risk, obviously. Blokeanomics? – Winning on shares

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Samira Ahmed

I was fascinated by an interview with two Cardiff schoolboys on Radio 4 this morning. Their school team had won a national “Shares for Schools” competition and two of them were interviewed  in the business slot about how they’d outperformed … Continue reading →

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The Truth About The Jam Generation (80s remix)

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Samira Ahmed

Since David Cameron claimed class war anthem “Eton Rifles” as one his Desert Island Discs, many political journalists seem to have bought the argument that they are “The Jam Generation”; the subject of a recent Radio 4 series. It seemed … Continue reading →

Posted in Comedy, Culture, Education, Film, journalism, Media, Music, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Prevention in Pakistan: Cameron’s new strategy?

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Samira Ahmed

This is my post for Channel 4 News about David Cameron’s announcement of £650 million in education aid.  Amid all the fuss about Libya, has the Coalition Government’s smartest foreign policy decision been made quietly  and efficiently? The Prime Minister’s visit … Continue reading →

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How to re-programme your children in 6 easy steps.

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Samira Ahmed

I’m of the generation supposed to be blessed with the Golden Age of children’s TV (the 70s and early 80s).  Fortunate enough to be on the Royal Television Society jury judging Children’s TV and TV Drama this year, I was delighted to see … Continue reading →

Posted in Children, Culture, Education, Film, Media, TV, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The Guinea Pig — experiments in schooling deprived teenagers

Posted on March 2, 2011 by Samira Ahmed

Looking at all the wistful posters for the new TV series, Jamie’s Dream School immediately made me think of the Boulting Brothers’ fascinating film sixty three year- old film The Guinea Pig — also for popular entertainment — about an … Continue reading →

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The Girl From The Black Country: An interview with Julie Walters

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Samira Ahmed

UPDATE May 19th 2014: Julie Walters was awarded the 2014 BAFTA fellowship last night for her lifetime achievement in acting. In the interview I did with her in 2011 she spoke with real passion about her fear for whether a … Continue reading →

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Michael Gove on educational elitism — a flashback to Oxford 1988

Posted on January 20, 2011 by Samira Ahmed

  Hearing the attacks for alleged “elitism” made on Education Secretary Michael Gove’s  plans to make the National Curriculum of English state schools more academically rigorous, I remembered something he wrote about that very subject 23 years ago, in January … Continue reading →

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