This month we are pleased to announce that Sir John Jones joins us as Associate Director. As promised in our last edition, Alistair Smith describes his best all time assemblies. We have a write up of the first Secrets of Happy Schools Conference, ‘Winning the H Factor’. We report on how recent research shows how 'junk sleep' is harming teenagers' health and their performance in school. In our regular Three Items on a Desk feature, French teacher Jessica Holmes remembers her initial experiences of learning the language and finally, we conclude by revealing some interesting links between linguistic skills and brain structure. [read more]

This month Nigel Whittle, an English teacher in Preston, lets us know how Accelerated Learning strategies have been successfully implemented in his school; we consider the effects of alcohol on a young person's brain; Britain's 'friendliest' school* tells us why their students attend Saturday School; we wonder whether Mozart should be replaced with something more modern and we conclude with our regular 'three items on a desk' feature. [read more]

This month Alistair Smith tells us about mental strength in the sport’s world. Mark Lovatt, the Deputy Headteacher at Cramlington Learning Village in Northumberland provides some easy to introduce steps for Learning to Learn. We look at recent research into the areas of the brain used for playing violent video games and we complete with an interview with Headteacher Judith Pandazis who tells us about the three most important items on her desk. [read more]

Last month we highlighted the results of the 2020 Report on Teaching and Learning and this month we are delighted to feature an article by Derek Wise, Headteacher of Cramlington Learning Village and a member of the Gilbert Review. Alistair Smith provides an account of the L2 Users’ Conference attended by over 150 delegates recently at the Ricoh Stadium. We consider the potential benefits of Ginkgo and we ask Richard Churches, the Principal Consultant for National Programmes at the CfBT Education Trust to narrow down the three most important items on his desk. [read more]

This month Alistair Smith begins by giving us a glimpse into his busy life; we highlight the results of the 2020 Report on Teaching and Learning; we consider the potential benefits of a game of chess; we reveal recent research into increased brain development at puberty and we sum up by thinking about how our brains make decisions. [read more]

We are starting the New Year by focusing on a Secondary School in Essex whose PE Department began the introduction of Accelerated Learning techniques; we consider how the language we speak may influence our mathematical skills and we conclude with Headteacher Richard Gerver revealing the three most important things on his desk. [read more]

This month we celebrate the achievements of Chapel Break First School after their outstanding Ofsted report which praised the power of Accelerated Learning; Teresa Tunnadine from The Compton School reveals how she has developed her vision of creating an outstanding 21st Century School; we note that multi-tasking isn’t always beneficial to learning and we end with a light-hearted look at some of the things we learn as we go through life. [Read More]

This month’s edition of the Alite newsletter reveals how one school have made the human brain an enthralling walk through experience for its pupils; we follow on from last issue’s input about e-learning; we provide some comfort for parents and teachers of teenagers and we conclude by having a laugh! [Read More]

This month Alistair Smith progress of the human race; we focus on introducinge-learning across the school; and to conclude, we encourage you to eat more curries to benefit your brain power! [Read More]

To celebrate the end of term and the summer holidays, we’ve decided to concentrate on happiness this month! Alistair Smith argues a strong case for happier schools.
We are delighted to report back on the success of our annual conference at the Café Royal last month for those who couldn’t make it and the Head and Assistant Head of Highfields Primary School who presented at the event, tell us how they have developed pupils’ positive learning attributes. We end with the suggestion of tuning into Fun Radio over the long, summer months to catch up with essential Accelerated Learning themed songs…[Read More]

This month, Alistair Smith gives an insight into ‘a week in the life of’; Will Thomas passes on some ideas on how to achieve a work-life balance; Pat Denison tells us how she empowered herself and her staff by deciding to Develop the Developers; we give a background to the artist Alison Lapper who is a guest speaker at our Celebrating Learning Conference; we reveal some recent neurobiology research and Alison Slater, a Year 4 teacher, reviews Picture the Music.[Read More]

This month, we introduce a new feature: ‘Resource Review’. We hear about the impressive improvements at a large specialist college in Wakefield, and how Highfields Primary School in Rowley Regis have effectively developed pupils’ positive learning attributes. Having taken examples from some of the schools Alite has worked with, we provide some welcome advice on finding time. [Read More]

This month’s newsletter picks up the theme of happiness which is beginning to be recognised as a legitimate source of academic study. In an excerpt from his forthcoming book Alistair Smith begins to argue the case for happier schools. Read about two Primary case studies. We follow with some short pieces under the happiness theme and include our ten happiest films![Read More]

A number of pieces have appeared in recent months claiming to explore the evidence for Accelerated Learning. One recent lengthy article even managed to avoid any reference to teachers, classrooms or schools in doing so. We thought we would continue to redress this as part of this month's newsletter. We do so with a plea to the academics and theorists to leave the literature surveys behind and get out and into schools such as Stamford where there is obvious success. This month we inspect the toilets and find them wanting, we also report on research into single sex classrooms. Simon Percival visits the East Riding of Yorkshire and we ask if your toddler is stressed.[Read More]

With the UK leaves beginning to turn we offer you a viewing special to guide you through the coming months. We look at the growing interest in television and video as a learning tool for staff and students. Alite Chair Alistair Smith remembers his days in Media Studies advisory work and describes how the new Close Up video for Primary Schools was put together. We provide news of how schools use video with some dos and don’ts. Finally, we balance a summary of some recent research into children’s viewing with some of the more stupid gaffs of their parents.[Read More]

Welcome back! This month we start with a short tribute to developing community and parent links before London Headteacher Janet Moffat offers a different philosophy. A bitter-sweet piece precedes Dan Buckland's views on e-learning. We finish with news about some of Alite's current programmes; if you haven't yet updated your profile, please follow the link at the bottom of the page to help us to ensure we send you the information you really want to receive.[Read More]

Our July newsletter provides a report on goings on at our Annual Conference. The event at the prestigious Cafe Royal was a great success. Whilst London basked in sun outside we stayed - and looked - cool inside. If you suffer from hay fever in such weather we have a cure for you. We also have case studies from Seven Kings, Ilford and the University of Opole, Poland. To cheer you up and distract the hay fever sufferers we have two stories of positive regard.[Read More]

June is one of those months! Our newsletter start with a piece on charisma research – sit up, shoulders back, smile - and then follows with guidance on transformational leadership in the classroom from Oli Sparks. We then fight the sandpit’s corner with some hard evidence that sitting still for too long hinders young children’s learning! Our case studies look at assessment for learning and we end by proving that red is the colour.[Read More]

May’s newsletter has a secret code! Each of our main items provides 7 pieces of advice. There are 3 sets of 7 tips for the exam season; seven (plus three) ways to reduce maths anxiety in your classroom; the 7 habits of effective learners. If your head is spinning trying to work out how many tips that is altogether, you might need to read Cath Daley’s words of wisdom for maths phobics.[Read More]

This month’s newsletter starts with a piece on locus of control followed by a short case study from Somerset and some observations about role models. If you have ever had an irritating tune in your head which seems to stay with you all day we may have an explanation. Finally, Alite is launching its own unique Learning to Learn Programme for schools and we have some information about it. [Read More]

This month’s newsletter starts with an insight into Alite’s Chairman’s working week, features some learning from the UK Secondary Heads Association Conference, a ‘school dinners’ quiz and some interesting ‘hands on’ research.[Read More]

This month’s newsletter is built around a case study from South Africa and focuses on developing resilience. Claire Dunicz describes how she has used the BASICS model in her work with township children. We follow with some thoughts on research into resilience, some possible role models and some congratulations. [Read More]

As it is the season for promising yourself you will get fit, joining gymnasiums and never visiting them again, deciding to lose weight, becoming more assertive and meeting the man/woman/car/holiday resort/house of your dreams, we have given this month’s newsletter a self-development focus. First of all we catch up on ‘ladette’ behaviour, then progress onto the science of self-talk. We introduce Will Thomas’s STRIDE model for self-coaching, provide an excerpt from Coaching Solutions and some predictions. Have a good 2005! [Read More]

As the days shorten and the leaves brown, you could be forgiven for experiencing the early onset of Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). To guarantee against this our October newsletter is a happiness special. We start by asking what is happiness and then, can it be bought? Our case study is from an Education Action Zone. We provide ten tips for making your classroom happier and a few jokes along the way.[Read More]

This month’s newsletter basks in the reflected glory of the Athens Olympics. We start with a short synopsis of children’s views on sport. Then we ask the question about mental toughness. A summary of recent research on walking and play, a case study on movement and learning and some research on the brain and maths completes the serious stuff. For those of you who prefer more obscure leisure activities we have a piece on the ninth annual Air Guitar World Championships. [Read More]

This month's newsletter starts with a tale of two 17 year old champions and asks some questions about role models. It offers some research findings about eating and the brain. We provide a review of Alite 2004 Meeting the Challenge and three pieces in which readers share their ideas. [Read More]

This month’s newsletter takes the theme of planning. We start with a cage full of monkeys. We then describe how one business guru goes from good to great, provide a case study from a large secondary school and introduce a new planning tool which could help your school.[Read More]

This month’s newsletter is about barriers. We provide a short piece on Roger Bannister and how he broke the 4 minute mile record on May 6th 50 years ago, reflections on Bear Grylls’ Mount Everest record and some practical advice for you and your child to overcome the barriers of exams. We also give some advice on how to encourage parents into your school![Read More]

'April is the cruellest month'. In this newsletter we start with some harsh words about television and attention disorders, then mix memory and desire with a piece on Learning to Learn. We provide links through to Alistair Smith's Campaign for Learning keynote speech and a description of what it means for a Portchester Primary. For the aspiring Polar explorers in your school we offer an opportunity to make a virtual journey. Details of what could be the best software investment you or your school might ever make are also included in our PlanEasy2 promotion. [Read More]

This month we pick up on last month's piece on fatty acids and brain function, provide a detailed case study of a school's community developments, provide news of the first ever on-line psychology of soccer course and our usual round up of news and events.[Read More]

February comes and with it a newsletter to sharpen your wits, restore your creativity and look after your brain. We have items on brain research, creativity, the use of drama and the usual update on what we are doing and where. [Read More]

In the first newsletter of 2004 we provide some predictions, lay bare some truths about horoscopes, provide a rationale for playing with the boxes those toys came in and give some tips for sleeping. [Read More]

In this month's newsletter we lay down the law on sleeping, give you some bad news and some good news, hear a Tale of Two Schools and share some correspondence. Don't forget to visit our re-vamped website.[Read More]

This month's edition starts with some good news for parents, gives some guidelines for learning in groups, strategies for coaching and for using NLP in schools, a short profile of the school of the future and details of the Making It Happen Programme. [Read More]

This month's edition contains a piece by Ani Magill on Distributed Leadership in a large Secondary School, some transatlantic insights from Penny Clayton, an update on Alistair's work with the Football Association and some reasons why Buddhists have a smile on their face.[Read More]

This is the get off to a quick start special! We have some serious Formula One Philosophy from David Coulthard, guidance on how to keep calm in a crisis, Case Studies from a primary and a Special School plus Great Classroom Motivators. However, let's start with saturated fats. [Read More]

In respect of the hottest summer in the UK for many years we provide a lifestyle special. This month some wisdom about gym classes, holding your breath, school meal trauma and top tips for leaving teaching behind (temporarily).[Read More]

This month we consider some fresh research on computer gaming and learning and offer our thoughts. We review the Alite National Conference and provide two school case studies from the conference as well as a more detailed listing of Alite training and development programmes. [Read More]

This month we look at two exciting examples of thinking outside the box: one is from a Derbyshire Primary, looking to inspire their pupils by creating a town within the school; the second is from Cornwall, where their EAZ challenged a group of KS3 pupils to design a Learning Centre for the county – the results were amazing! [Read More]

In this month’s newsletter we have a review of the recent Motivation conference in Manchester, word from Knottingley High School and Sports College on their effective Key Stage 3 Strategy.[Read More]

This month we take the theme of Making it Happen! This is our title for Alite 2003, our annual national conference taking place once again at the Café Royal, London on June 20th.[Read More]

This month we begin our first look at ‘the school of the future’ and start with a comparison of today’s students with those of a previous generation. [Read More]

This month we look at the perennial question of gender in education, focusing on brain differences between boys and girls and what this might mean to the classroom. [Read More]

The newsletter this month has a self-improvement theme! For those of you who nursed festive hangovers, we outline some recent breakthroughs in headache research.[Read More]

In this newsletter we anticipate the season of good cheer, so what better than laughter and learning special. We start by looking at some recent research on teacher stress and later explore some of the research on laughter and learning. [Read More]

In this month’s newsletter we explore organisational change. We begin with a look at culture and change in relation to education in the UK before moving on to how a primary school might be transformed through strong leadership. [Read More]

In this edition we look at why movement should be part of classroom learning, the effect of PE on pupils and suggest some strategies to improve participation in the subject. We also have ideas for some great sporting reads. Ready? Go!
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In this edition we look at why movement should be part of classroom learning, the effect of PE on pupils and suggest some strategies to improve participation in the subject. We also have ideas for some great sporting reads. Ready? Go![Read More]

We have devoted most of this month's newsletter to the subject of Thinking Skills. We also bring you a review of the 10th International Conference on Thinking, news about the success of AL practitioners throughout the UK before moving on to how a primary school might be transformed through strong leadership. [Read More]

This month's theme is motivation. We start on the couch with the Simpsons before sharing some of the news from Alite. [Read More]

This month we have intriguing items on homework and ability grouping, as well as some thought-provoking information on enriched learning environments. [Read More]

There is plenty of food for thought in this month's newsletter. Should boys be taught differently from girls? How can exercise improve academic performance? [Read More]

In the November issue, we referred to ten common myths about the brain and learning. In this issue, we begin to explode the myths, starting with the fallacy that 'your memory is perfect'. [Read More]

We decided it was time to focus on the importance of sleep, so this month's newsletter is a 'sleep special'! We don't think it will send you to sleep (although we do have some useful suggestions if you suffer from insomnia!) [Read More]

In this month's newsletter we have information on literacy and the brain, emotional stress, foetal brain development, and some practical tips on target-setting. [Read More]

You may be interested - or possibly very surprised! - to read Alistair Smith's item which explains that we are all musical. [Read More]

If you still haven't decided what to have for dinner tonight, we think you might be interested in our piece about the benefits of spinach! [Read More]

This month we look at how the brain is affected by smoking in adolescence, and how it deals with worry. We bring you the results of research into how sleep affects behaviour in under-fives. [Read More]

If you work with both boys and girls, or if you have boys and girls of your own, you'll be interested to read our item about gender and how we learn. [Read More]

A short Summer newsletter to keep you up to date with the latest developments in the world of Brain-based and Accelerated Learning. [Read More]

This month we bring you some thoughts on recent research in London and how it has been interpreted. [Read More]

Comments on recent research into how teenage girls may be damaging their IQ through dieting, intriguing research that seems to demonstrate that giving birth improves memory. [Read More]

Thoughts on how music might contribute to changes in the brain, and comments on a proposed new 'Chris Tarrant-style' game show for children. [Read More]