Joe Eamer

The Great VAT Panic Or how not to run a campaign

New post just out:

"The Great VAT Panic"

The claims made by the right-wing press about VAT on private school fees were wildly wrong.

Why? What are the lessons about about (how not to) run a lobbying campaign? And what can government learn?

(£/free)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/t...

The Race to Find a Measles Treatment as Infections Surge The measles vaccine was so effective the disease was considered eliminated in the U.S., but a resurgence of outbreaks is spurring a need for drugs.

Get vaccinated, and make sure all your loved ones are too. Because so many Americans won't and the US is therefore becoming a health danger to the world.
www.wsj.com/health/healt...

Every reputable expert I know considers mRNA vaccine technology to be one of the most revolutionary advances in medicine in our lifetimes. Its inventors won the Nobel Prize in 2023. Shutting it down now is pointless self-harm to humanity.

Physics teaching resources Spreadsheets of resources Both searchable by topic, grade level, course, with suggestions about how to set them up, what to learn… (a warning may come up – this is new, I’m workin…

A benefit of having my website is that there is a place to put everything.

My physics resources are here, and I will gradually upload the things on my laptop and the things in my brain that could be of use to this section.

itsalearningcurve.education/physics-teac...

#iteachphysics

If countries deliberately reduce their workforces as populations age it will cause endemic economic failure.

Dear oh dear.

1 in 3 doctors were born overseas.

1 in 2 builders were born overseas.

1 in 6 nurses were born overseas.

1 in 4 transport workers were born overseas.

1 in 7 UK business founders were born overseas.

1 in 5 university academics were born overseas.

The UK would be screwed without them.

Northampton's hidden crisis: The surprising rise of food banks in university areas Behind the bustling student life and new developments in Northampton, a quiet crisis is growing. Food banks near the University area have seen a shocking 300% increase in visitors since 2022 – with un...

The fact that even the maximum student loans don't cover living costs is grotesque. The fact that they're offered at high interest rates pretty much forever just compounds the insult. A society that will help everyone but the young - who it hates. www.northamptonchron.co.uk/community/no...

Britain isn't broken We have our problems but the doomerism is getting out of hand

New post just out:

"Britain isn't broken"

We have our problems but the doomerism is getting out of hand.

I look at the real picture on crime, migration, social cohesion and the economy - rather than the dsyoptian fantasies of the radical right.

(£/free trial)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/b...

Your usual reminder that GB News should clearly not be permitted to hold a broadcast license in the United Kingdom.

Isaac logo, a hexagonally-shaped apple, followed by the words "is hiring" and an exclamation mark.

The Isaac Science project is hiring!

We have positions available for a biologist (tinyurl.com/4f5e3e2c), a chemist (tinyurl.com/98fksuv5) AND a physicist (tinyurl.com/9rdj3npt) to join our team.

Find out more by following the links, and get in touch if you have any questions.

#EduSky

Finally got round to starting up with BlueSky… looking forward to connecting with other educators and readers! 🙌

I am still after a couple of speakers for the online primary teachmeet this Wednesday! Any volunteers to speak for 10 minutes please? @primarygeogeyppc.bsky.social anyone amongst you? And please share! Thank you!

This is why I think tiering will stay in the new Science GCSEs when they come around, and for all their faults I can't see how you can properly distinguish between 18 grading points in Combined Science without them.

The Discrimination Dilemma Deciding when 69% really means better than 65%

New on 100% Assessment with @head-teach.bsky.social:
The Discrimination Dilemma - Deciding when 69% really means better than 65%.

As always, subscribe for weekly updates.

100assessment.substack.com/p/the-discri...

Physics teachers. Looking for resources, tips and advice, sorted by topic and key stage? Join us at PhysicsEd! 🙂
#iTeachPhysics
#SciTeachUK

www.physicsed.net

🚨Just 2% of the population - under 800,000 people sustained the whole of England's blood supply over the past 12 months

The NHS has put out an urgent call for 200,000 donors to come forward

Book an appointment or register today ❤️🙏👇
blood.co.uk

On the Brink Universities are in serious financial trouble - what can be done about it?

New post just out:

"On the Brink"

Why so many universities are in serious financial trouble.

Why it's about to get worse.

What the government could do about it.

(£/free trial)

open.substack.com/pub/samf/p/o...

YouTube video by Hookean Physics GCSE Physics electricity revision demo: Links static to circuits #physics #gcsephysics

Physics teachers. Please share this video with your classes if you think it would help their understanding of static and current electricity ⚡️🙂
#PhysicsEd
#iTeachPhysics
#SciTeachUK

www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_Tz...

Latest blog on the importance but decline of teacher modelling.
thinkingflexibly.com/2025/05/11/t...

Was just about to send this too you...

Near-circular orbits for planets with Earth-like sizes and instellations around M and K dwarf stars Nature Astronomy - Measurements of the orbital eccentricities of exoplanets with similar sizes and irradiation as Earth show that these worlds further resemble Earth with near-circular orbits,...

This new exoplanet article might be a nice extension when teaching about Kepler's Laws:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Hello BlueSky! As my A level work with Collins comes to an end (more on this soon), I'm considering what the next project will be.

Considering making my KS4 physics booklets more "professional" and doing a workbook similar to the KS3 science one. Thoughts welcome on the format of a sample sheet.

If Labour chokes off the numbers of international students just at the moment the UK could clean up, it will bring about university collapses it will have to row back on and bail out... spending billions that Reform UK voters will hate. These people can't even think two steps ahead.

Utter gibberish as usual. "Family GPs" don't sign off SEND plans or disability benefits.

I've been asked for reading recommendations for students and teachers about data science, machine learning and AI.

Here are a few:

The Truth Detective, Tim Harford
Hello World, Hannah Fry
Weapons of Math Destruction, Cathy O’Neil
The Art of Statistics: Learning from Data, David Spiegelhalter
…

Powerpoint and IWBs – It’s time to reclaim analogue teaching When was the last time you taught an individual lesson without using an interactive whiteboard, without PowerPoint, without pre prepared digital resources? When was the last time you did this for a…

Powerpoint and IWBs - time to reclaim analogue teaching. My latest blog.
thinkingflexibly.com/2025/04/19/p...

15 minute survey on practical work in science, to help out a research project:
#SciTeachUK

york.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

This Friday - an Easter Special of #TheREPodcast where I interview @jaymcguiness.bsky.social #HelenLederer #StefReid @nelufar.bsky.social #harryclark @thetraitors.bsky.social plus an exclusive interview with @dalisochaponda.bsky.social Thanks #BBC @ctvctcvtc.bsky.social We missed you #JeffBrazier