Strong Female Character by Fern Brady

I loved Fern Brady on Taskmaster last season and she now tops my list of favourite ever contestants. As a result I was very excited to read this book. Listening to her on a variety of podcasts recently I was aware of the extent to which she challenges many of the potential stereotypes- not least

The Social Distance Between Us by Darren McGarvey

Having lived in London for the last three years I feel I have lost touch a little with Scottish political thinking. However, my curiosity was peaked by a couple of people saying how much they had enjoyed Darren McGarvey’s new book (Andy Burnham and Fern Brady I think). His last book, Poverty Safari, was thought-provoking

Boys Don’t Try? Rethinking Masculinity in Schools by Matt Pinkett and Mark Roberts

This was another book that popped up a lot on my Twitter timeline. It covers an area of great interest to me pastorally- how can we get the best out of boys. It focused on a question that regularly pops up- is masculinity toxic? The book itself was nicely written. Each chapter generally started with

Poverty Safari by Darren McGarvey

This is an outstanding book. It describes McGravey’s upbringing, life in poverty and his struggles with substance abuse in the south side of Glasgow. It is powerfully written and thought provoking. It has won many awards and McGarvey is now a significant voice challenging the Scottish establishment. To me, much of its success comes from

The Deepest Well by Dr Nadine Burke Harris

As a Modern Studies teacher, I thoroughly enjoy teaching the Social Issues aspects of the courses. Particularly the Social Inequalities section. Trying to understand and explain the Glasgow Effect has always been profoundly interesting. I have been lucky enough to listen to Sir Harry Burns talking about epigenetics and the biology of a hug several