Katharine Birbalsingh

What problem is the Education Secretary trying to solve?

Dear Education Secretary, I am worried your time in office will destroy the huge gains made over the last decade and a half in helping disadvantaged children across England. I don’t know if you are being ideologically blind and therefore ignoring the obvious negative impact of your decisions – or perhaps you just don’t understand

Britain isn’t racist

In the last few months we’ve been told that Britain is a fundamentally racist society, that the colour of your skin holds you back in life if you’re not white, that history, education and, in fact, all white people, are inherently racist. Too often, we hear this from the media, from universities and from many

The Katharine Birbalsingh Edition

26 min listen

Katharine is the headmistress of Michaela Community School, dubbed by some as ‘Britain’s strictest school’. She talks to Katy about why she regrets speaking at Conservative Party Conference, her school’s ‘tiger teacher’ philosophy, and why she would ban smartphones for everyone under the age of 18. Presented by Katy Balls.