Geoff Barton
@realgeoffbarton.bsky.social
Recovering English teacher, headteacher, and union baron. Chiefly: food, books, Shakespeare, oracy, articles of interest … and gratuitous pics of border terrier Molly B.
https://linktr.ee/geoffbarton
https://linktr.ee/geoffbarton
Just finished Ian McEwan’s latest. At first I wasn’t sure about it. I liked the dystopian stuff, but didn’t care about the people, the narrative. Then part 2 kicks in and it all coheres - a haunting exploration of memory, storytelling, the intersection of our past & present. Superb #BartonBookshelf
October 26, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Just finished Ian McEwan’s latest. At first I wasn’t sure about it. I liked the dystopian stuff, but didn’t care about the people, the narrative. Then part 2 kicks in and it all coheres - a haunting exploration of memory, storytelling, the intersection of our past & present. Superb #BartonBookshelf
A helpful letter from school trust leaders in @thetimes.com on the need to reform the current SEND system so that it better serves the needs of the young people it was designed to support: www.thetimes.com/comment/lett...
July 10, 2025 at 6:33 AM
A helpful letter from school trust leaders in @thetimes.com on the need to reform the current SEND system so that it better serves the needs of the young people it was designed to support: www.thetimes.com/comment/lett...
Apropos nothing: bagpipes correspondence in @theguardian.com
July 5, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Apropos nothing: bagpipes correspondence in @theguardian.com
Looking forward to heading back to my old stomping ground of York tomorrow for the 'English: Shared Futures' conference, where I'll join Dr Tom F. Wright & the indefatigable @barbarableiman.bsky.social to discuss - of course! - the liberating power of oracy education englishsharedfutures.org
July 3, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Looking forward to heading back to my old stomping ground of York tomorrow for the 'English: Shared Futures' conference, where I'll join Dr Tom F. Wright & the indefatigable @barbarableiman.bsky.social to discuss - of course! - the liberating power of oracy education englishsharedfutures.org
Apropos nothing: in response to “I’m good” … @theguardian.com
June 21, 2025 at 12:48 PM
Apropos nothing: in response to “I’m good” … @theguardian.com
June 15, 2025 at 8:58 PM
For @unesco.org’s International #Arts Week, I talked to leaders, pupils and an actor at Abington Vale School, Northampton, about their respective experience of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s ‘First Encounters’ production of ‘The Tempest’. Interviews here:
www.rsc.org.uk/news/geoff-b...
www.rsc.org.uk/news/geoff-b...
May 22, 2025 at 6:26 AM
For @unesco.org’s International #Arts Week, I talked to leaders, pupils and an actor at Abington Vale School, Northampton, about their respective experience of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s ‘First Encounters’ production of ‘The Tempest’. Interviews here:
www.rsc.org.uk/news/geoff-b...
www.rsc.org.uk/news/geoff-b...
With the arrival of @unesco.bsky.social's International Arts Week, this piece by @thatdanstewart.bsky.social @financialtimes.com on the decline of music is both entertaining and sobering (via @theweek.com):
May 18, 2025 at 10:38 AM
With the arrival of @unesco.bsky.social's International Arts Week, this piece by @thatdanstewart.bsky.social @financialtimes.com on the decline of music is both entertaining and sobering (via @theweek.com):
Poignant and uplifting today to celebrate the life of an extraordinary headteacher, Adrian Williams, CBE. Adrian was a brilliant communicator, tireless in seeing schools as integral to their communities, and a great role-model to me. Today’s event was a reminder of the influence of great leaders.
May 12, 2025 at 8:48 PM
Poignant and uplifting today to celebrate the life of an extraordinary headteacher, Adrian Williams, CBE. Adrian was a brilliant communicator, tireless in seeing schools as integral to their communities, and a great role-model to me. Today’s event was a reminder of the influence of great leaders.
Not sure how I’ve spent this long on the planet without knowing about the National Poetry Library at the South Bank Centre, London. It’s wonderful.
May 8, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Not sure how I’ve spent this long on the planet without knowing about the National Poetry Library at the South Bank Centre, London. It’s wonderful.
The view from here: my day starts pretty much as every day starts - Molly B snoozing loudly as I grab 30 minutes or so of pure reading time. And this Taylor Jenkins Reid novel is an absolute gem. #BartonBookshelf
May 5, 2025 at 6:40 AM
The view from here: my day starts pretty much as every day starts - Molly B snoozing loudly as I grab 30 minutes or so of pure reading time. And this Taylor Jenkins Reid novel is an absolute gem. #BartonBookshelf
Thought for the day, courtesy of @theknowledgenews.bsky.social
April 20, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Thought for the day, courtesy of @theknowledgenews.bsky.social
And so, you ask, has DJ Geoffy B put together an Easter megamix of music and jingles? Well, funny you should ask ... www.mixcloud.com/GeoffyB/gb-n...
April 14, 2025 at 6:59 PM
And so, you ask, has DJ Geoffy B put together an Easter megamix of music and jingles? Well, funny you should ask ... www.mixcloud.com/GeoffyB/gb-n...
Thought for the day (via @theknowledgenews.bsky.social):
April 7, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Thought for the day (via @theknowledgenews.bsky.social):
Strike a pose: Molly B had a haircut today, then fell asleep in the sun. Obviously.
Have a relaxing weekend, all.
Have a relaxing weekend, all.
April 4, 2025 at 7:57 PM
Strike a pose: Molly B had a haircut today, then fell asleep in the sun. Obviously.
Have a relaxing weekend, all.
Have a relaxing weekend, all.
The Cultural Learning Alliance's 2025 Report Card is out. It notes "a long-term dismantling of the infrastructure that
supports young people to benefit from
Arts and culture – with the most marginalised
bearing the brunt of a decline": www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk/wp-content/u...
supports young people to benefit from
Arts and culture – with the most marginalised
bearing the brunt of a decline": www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk/wp-content/u...
April 4, 2025 at 9:26 AM
The Cultural Learning Alliance's 2025 Report Card is out. It notes "a long-term dismantling of the infrastructure that
supports young people to benefit from
Arts and culture – with the most marginalised
bearing the brunt of a decline": www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk/wp-content/u...
supports young people to benefit from
Arts and culture – with the most marginalised
bearing the brunt of a decline": www.culturallearningalliance.org.uk/wp-content/u...
No trip to Cambridge is complete without a visit to Jack’s Gelato, an amazing local ice-cream maker. And today they embraced the 1st April vibe, brilliantly.
April 1, 2025 at 6:45 PM
No trip to Cambridge is complete without a visit to Jack’s Gelato, an amazing local ice-cream maker. And today they embraced the 1st April vibe, brilliantly.
“The wealth of bands, orchestras, concerts and gigs we see today isn’t a predictor of our musical future, it’s a reflection of our educational past”: powerful @theguardian.com letter on the bleak decline of music in state schools …
March 29, 2025 at 10:02 AM
“The wealth of bands, orchestras, concerts and gigs we see today isn’t a predictor of our musical future, it’s a reflection of our educational past”: powerful @theguardian.com letter on the bleak decline of music in state schools …
The view from here: great pleasure today to attend the @voice21oracy.bsky.social ‘Speaking Summit,’ reflecting on the next stage of our #oracy journey. Well done to @kateparadine.bsky.social & team. A bonus to bump into oracy commissioner Jeffrey Boakye:
March 25, 2025 at 3:13 PM
The view from here: great pleasure today to attend the @voice21oracy.bsky.social ‘Speaking Summit,’ reflecting on the next stage of our #oracy journey. Well done to @kateparadine.bsky.social & team. A bonus to bump into oracy commissioner Jeffrey Boakye:
Really enjoyed listening to fellow RSC trustee @oldfortunatus.bsky.social talking about Shakespeare's occasional co-author Thomas Middleton in BBCRadio 4's 'In Our Time' www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m.... But also laughed out loud at this passage from her book 'This is Shakespeare' about the 'Dream'
March 23, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Really enjoyed listening to fellow RSC trustee @oldfortunatus.bsky.social talking about Shakespeare's occasional co-author Thomas Middleton in BBCRadio 4's 'In Our Time' www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m.... But also laughed out loud at this passage from her book 'This is Shakespeare' about the 'Dream'
Behaviour management: after 6 years of telling a border terrier never to get on a bed …
March 17, 2025 at 9:33 PM
Behaviour management: after 6 years of telling a border terrier never to get on a bed …
Today, more than 700 representatives from across the arts & education world signed an open letter in
@thetimes.com, calling for more opportunities for arts education for every child from every background. I was pleased to sign on behalf of the @oracycommission.bsky.social
@thetimes.com, calling for more opportunities for arts education for every child from every background. I was pleased to sign on behalf of the @oracycommission.bsky.social
March 14, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Today, more than 700 representatives from across the arts & education world signed an open letter in
@thetimes.com, calling for more opportunities for arts education for every child from every background. I was pleased to sign on behalf of the @oracycommission.bsky.social
@thetimes.com, calling for more opportunities for arts education for every child from every background. I was pleased to sign on behalf of the @oracycommission.bsky.social
The view from here: sitting in a deckchair (yes, a deckchair, in early March!) in our sun-drenched #Suffolk garden, Molly B on my lap, reading this exquisite novel (bought yesterday at the ever-brilliant Aldeburgh Bookshop). I don’t take for granted how fortunate I am.
March 8, 2025 at 3:31 PM
The view from here: sitting in a deckchair (yes, a deckchair, in early March!) in our sun-drenched #Suffolk garden, Molly B on my lap, reading this exquisite novel (bought yesterday at the ever-brilliant Aldeburgh Bookshop). I don’t take for granted how fortunate I am.