The chapter also includes an interesting section on Maths teaching principles and practice which is likely to be of interest to the Maths teachers amongst us. One slightly surprising omission was the Chinese fascination with Western education. With increasing numbers of Chinese students not only applying for university education in the West, but an explosion of Chinese nationals seeking international education programmes in China itself, I felt there was scope for evaluating why such a successful education system hasn’t (yet) managed to stem this trend. Lucy Crehan, author of ‘Cleverlands’, will share her fascinating experience of high-performing school systems work across the world and how we can be aspirational for all our pupils. Masters in Education at the University of Cambridge, and setting off on an ethnographic, educational exploration of the world’s On returning from her trip, Ms Crehan published a book – Cleverlands – recounting her findings, which was which named one of The Economist’s ‘books of the year’ within a week of its release, and has been described by Professor Dylan Wiliam as “a truly important contribution to educational scholarship”. She spent a year at Education Development Trust as part of a team advising governments on education reform, where she spent several months in Brunei working on a teacher coaching reform programme. She has also been involved in a research project on teacher career structures with IIEP UNESCO, writing a book on the existing literature and theories, and conducting case studies in Scotland and New York. Ms Crehan has advised the UK government as part of a working group on teacher workload, and spoken about her work at conferences in eight countries. She now works as a freelance education consultant and is conducting research for her second book. The front garden is laid to lawn with a pedestrian access from both sides of the property leading to a generous enclosed landscaped rear garden and patio seating area.

Lucy Crehan is a qualified teacher, an education explorer, and an international education consultant. She taught science andThe ground floor also features a handy wet room, with walk in shower, toilet and handbasin and a neighbouring boiler room which houses the hot water cylinder, the solar panel controls, the underfloor heating manifold, and also provides further useful storage space. Since returning from her ground-breaking trip around the world’s ‘top performing’ education systems, she has published a report on teacher career structures for IIEP UNESCO, advised the UK government as part of a working group on teacher workload, and spoken about her work at conferences in the UK, US and Sweden. She now works as part of a team advising foreign governments on education reform at Education Development Trust. Lucy lives Lucy is a qualified teacher, an education explorer, and an international education consultant. She taught science and psychology at a secondary school in London for three years before turning her sights to research and policy, and gaining a distinction in her Master of Education at the University of Cambridge.

I will end on something of a lament despite this being a wonderful book to read and review. Throughout the book I couldn’t shake the feeling that for all the former teacher was making a broader, more unique impact on education by undertaking this project, UK classrooms are ever so slightly the poorer each time one of our brightest and most dedicated teachers exits. Cleverlands will provide policymakers with ample food for thought, but perhaps they should concentrate their minds most on why the author felt the need to write it in the first place. With our small class sizes and low student-to-teacher ratio, we provide all our pupils with a tailored education whilst celebrating individuality through the promotion and encouragement of individual gifts and talents. This allows our pupils to truly flourish and thrive during their time at our school, as well as preparing them for life beyond Clevelands. A spacious, well presented, 5 bedroom (1 en-suite) detached property with landscaped gardens, integral garage and ample driveway parking. This superb family home features an Air Source heating system with underfloor heating, solar assisted hot water and a west facing balcony off the master bedroom. Situated just off the main route into the town the property has excellent access to the local supermarkets and the comprehensive school, both of which are within a very short walk. I ‘pledged’ to buy this book in summer of 2015 after hearing Lucy describe her ‘geeky gap year’. I was impressed with her get up and go, her understanding of education in a global context, and her considered approach to evaluating education practice. All these qualities shine through in the book. It is even handed in its treatment of wholly different educational cultures (not an easy task) and deftly references an extensive body of supporting research. Yet, whilst it is academic and analytical as required, it is very much a personal odyssey – and all the more engaging a read as a consequence.Cleverlands is essentially the story of one teacher’s journey across five high performing education systems. Fuelled on curiosity – and perhaps no little frustration deriving from her time teaching in the UK state system – Lucy Crehan spent two weeks in each of Finland, Japan, Singapore, Shanghai and Canada. She spent time ‘living with teachers, listening to parents and learning what education looks like in completely different cultures’. The result is a book which should be read by anyone who has an interest in improving education – and a testimony to the merits of crowd funded publishing. what it actually felt like as a teacher, and how each of those policies interacted in a particular cultural context to affect