Tag: writing

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DEAR PRIME MINISTER, ARE YOU AWARE…?

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Mark E. Saunders of “The Scottish Minuteman” https://www.facebook.com/profile.php/?id=61575625542197 At Prime Minister’s Questions today, Chris Law asked Andy Burnham about Scotland’s right to determine its own constitutional future. The Prime Minister referred to the Good Friday Agreement and its conditions to hold a Border Poll for the people of Northern Ireland. But of Scotland, he said: “I am not aware that there is a majority of public support for another referendum.” So let’s make sure he becomes aware. We are asking people across Scotland — and anyone who … Continue reading DEAR PRIME MINISTER, ARE YOU AWARE…?

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When will BBC Scotland hire an education correspondent that can read published peer-review research revealing how Pisa reduces creative work and can weaken later learning

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Quick as you don’t like, BBC Scotland‘s ‘Education Correspondent’, with barely a thought it seems, is taking the latest Pisa data on reading all-too-dimly. Who is she? Lucy Adams at the University of Glasgow -She studied for an MLitt in Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow between 2006 and 2008. This is an interesting part of her background because creative writing can strengthen narrative skill, precision of language and the ability to bring lived experience vividly onto the page. She also completed a … Continue reading When will BBC Scotland hire an education correspondent that can read published peer-review research revealing how Pisa reduces creative work and can weaken later learning

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Two leading academics cast doubt on England’s supposedly better Pisa scores as their sample is revealed to be skewed toward high achievers by schools gaming the system again

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To put it plainly, based on the reading of two prominent academics in England, the sample from English schools is light on the percentage of pupils with special needs. This echoes the problems of representativeness in the English sample in 2022 (more below) when the results were ‘asterisked’ with a serious warning after almost being fully excluded. There is no history of such gaming or bias in the other 3 UK nations. Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 The above from the Times Education Supplement‘s analysis of the Pisa test … Continue reading Two leading academics cast doubt on England’s supposedly better Pisa scores as their sample is revealed to be skewed toward high achievers by schools gaming the system again

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No credible academic uses the Pisa scores and proper tests show real progress in Scotland’s schools

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Here’s a short video version: https://talkingupscotlandtwo.com/2026/03/10/short-video-on-englands-pisa-scores-are-based-only-on-a-tiny-selective-sample-of-higher-achieving-schools-making-paul-okanes-sad-desperate-attempt-to-claim-they-are-better/ ‘Pisa tests fail to recognise what’s important in education and should be ignored’ https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/pisa-tests-fail-recognise-whats-important-education-and-should-be-ignored OECD and Pisa tests are damaging education worldwide – academics https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/may/06/oecd-pisa-tests-damaging-education-academics Too few students from England took part in the study – meaning the results could be up to eight points too generous, as more higher-performing pupils took part.  https://schoolsweek.co.uk/pisa-2022-rise-in-maths-but-warning-over-inflated-results/#:~:text=But%20the%20country’s%20performance%20is,caution%20on%20interpreting%20the%20findings. I could go on with quotes about Pisa but the above three give a flavour of just how useless they are. Only politicians use them and do … Continue reading No credible academic uses the Pisa scores and proper tests show real progress in Scotland’s schools

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Far more police officers and probation officers. Far lower crime levels and far less re-offending – that’s where you live, really and many of you know it

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BBC Breakfast today reporting a damning assessment of the standard of policing in England & Wales. Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Many police forces in England and Wales still need to make improvements in the way they investigate crime and other “basics” of policing, according to His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary (HMIC). In her annual report, Michelle Skeer also said too many victims were not receiving the quality of service they should expect. Forces continue to struggle when it comes to gathering evidence, identifying and progressing lines of … Continue reading Far more police officers and probation officers. Far lower crime levels and far less re-offending – that’s where you live, really and many of you know it

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Bus fares £2 cap – SNP acts in your interests, ‘ah but’….’some’…….

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Liz S BBC website top story on their Scotland page this morning 7 September 2026: “Swinney’s £2 cap on bus fares kicks in – but some call it ‘half a solution’”. So yet again the same old BBC. So whenever the Scottish government intend to do something to try to help people, then instead of the BBC just writing a positive piece upon this, well what do we get instead ? We get the BBC including the now all too familiar addition of the words … Continue reading Bus fares £2 cap – SNP acts in your interests, ‘ah but’….’some’…….

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The UK State is ‘ducked’ and cannot now be salvaged

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Liz S BBC website : “Disruption at Port of Dover as masked men hold protest“ “masked men” and then according to the BBC they were holding a “protest“. More like thugs on the loose disguising themselves but why ? What’s that saying again “if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck” etc etc Hey BBC why not say it like it really is . The article states: “Hundreds of protesters, dressed in black and wearing face coverings, blocked roads and were heard chanting “stop the boats”. “Traffic was stopped from going … Continue reading The UK State is ‘ducked’ and cannot now be salvaged

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Anas ‘No shame’ Sarwar is a perfect fit for the Lords and the ugliest building in the ugliest style in the world, in Glasgow

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Did the new Baron of Maxwell Park, Anas Sarwar, like the look of this pile? Scottish Baronial is one of Scotland’s most embarrassing contributions to the world. It’s by miles the ugliest architectural style in the world and that above Burgh Hall in Maxwell Park is the bloody ugliest example of it I’ve ever seen. Appropriate for the c…………..ountry gentleman? Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 By Liz S New peer Anas ‘no shame’ Sarwar will soon be doing the media circuit in him appearing as a guest on various … Continue reading Anas ‘No shame’ Sarwar is a perfect fit for the Lords and the ugliest building in the ugliest style in the world, in Glasgow

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Another desperate attempt to drag us into the surging violence and hatred of the UK

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 Headlining for BBC Scotland today above, and: A 25-year-old Scottish man has been jailed for racially-motivated “violent disorder” linked to rioting in Belfast during the summer of 2024. Reece Dunnett, from Dunfermline in Fife, pleaded guilty to rioting and criminal damage offences at Laganside Crown Court on Friday. He received a 27-month sentence – half of which to be spent in prison and half on licence after his release. Dunnett committed the offences after trouble arose in the Sandy Row and Donegall Road areas … Continue reading Another desperate attempt to drag us into the surging violence and hatred of the UK

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Fact – there are no current investigations in Scotland involving offences against children like the investigations into abuse being perpetrated by “grooming gangs” in England

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Help Talking-up Scotland keep going Crowdfunder at: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/help-talking-up-scotland-keep-going Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421 The National review of group-based child sexual abuse and exploitation and child criminal exploitation Last updated: 3 September 2026 has not found evidence of any large-scale grooming gang activity comparable to that found across the ‘north’ of England in places like Rotherham and Rochdale, where more than a thousand young girls were abused and hundreds of offenders were prosecuted and jailed. What it has found is that it does not have the data to confirm that such activity does not take place in Scotland. Opposition politicians … Continue reading Fact – there are no current investigations in Scotland involving offences against children like the investigations into abuse being perpetrated by “grooming gangs” in England