William Butler Yeats, the great poet, observed, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” It may be easy to agree that education is the passport to a better future, but in this episode we wanted to discuss how we should be thinking about education today and tomorrow, and are we failing?

Our guest, Sir Anthony Seldon, is recognised as one of the most distinguished and respected figures in the world of education. He’s a headmaster who has led some of the UK's leading independent schools, including Wellington College, Brighton College and (now) Epsom College.

He is also the former Vice Chancellor of Buckingham University and author of over 40 books, including his masterpiece “The Impossible Office”, which examines the lives of 55 British Prime Ministers. Alongside this, Anthony is Deputy Chair of the Times Education Commission.

We discuss how to define a good education, how AI will influence both teaching and learning; and whether the cost versus benefit of school and university education represents a good return on investment, including whether Tony Blair was simply wrong in his desire to have 50% of the UK population attend university. 

Anthony discusses effecting change and assessing great leadership, drawing on his examination of 55 Prime Ministers. Perhaps most important of all, he discusses how to live a better life and why grades alone shouldn’t define intelligence. 

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The Money Maze Podcast is kindly sponsored by Schroders,  Bremont Watches and LiveTrade.