A New Way to Shape Learning

Ben and Steve take our hand, and guide us through the stepping stones of big educational theories and historical lessons-learned. They warmly nudge us along a reflective journey - providing detailed expert insights, paired with practical recommendations.This book has the integrity of authors who care deeply about young people's educational experiences, combined with the robustness of evidence-informed expertise and the wisdom of knowing what all this means in the classroom for both educator and learner.see more

This is a book that deserves a "wow". It is direct and provocative. It is well-researched and referenced, full of energy, which radiates from the pages. It is realistic, practical and pragmatic and of equal value to educators, thinking about how to adapt to meet the challenges we face now and in the future, and parents, trying to navigate the system. It is studded with brilliant phrase making. I had massive arguments with it, as many others will, but I loved it and unhesitatingly recommend it.see more

This book provides a hard hitting exposure of why our school system doesn't work for all. It also offers a sensitive analysis of how it could be made to work. Don't read it if you're convinced all is well in the school system. If you want a challenge coupled with some sound advice on ways forward, there are plenty of suggestions for you to consider and start the process of school transformation.see more

This is a genuinely important book, and one I would recommend not only to parents but to anyone still trying to understand why a system so efficiently run continues to produce such strangely narrow human beings. The future of learning is not a curriculum. It is a conversation. This book is an excellent place to start one.see more

I read Pick 'N' Mix Education with two hats on, a school leader and a dad. From inside a school, failure is abstract. The intentions are good, every single one. The hard part of this book is the slow realisation that all those good intentions are pouring into a system built for a different age. Whitaker and Hope hold that line with real generosity. They do not blame the people. They show you the scaffolding the people are standing on. They make the cleanest case I have read for real agency. Supported. Shared. Independent. Not compliance with better posture. Then they strip the costume out of the future-skills conversation and land on what actually holds. Judgement. Sense-making. Moral courage. Not skills. Character. As a dad, it opened the menu. As a leader, it sharpened my questions. The counter is open. The bag is in your hand. Start choosing.see more

This is a timely, courageous, and deeply thought-provoking book that challenges many of the assumptions underpinning modern education. Pick ’N’ Mix Education succeeds in opening up a far more human conversation about learning, one rooted in inclusion, individuality, agency, and the recognition that children do not all thrive in the same environments or through the same pathways. What stands out throughout is the authors’ clear belief that education should expand young people rather than standardise them. The book blends practical insight with a compelling vision for the future, particularly around learner identity, emotional wellbeing, neurodiversity, creativity, and the role of technology in supporting more personalised and accessible experiences. At a time when more families and educators are questioning whether traditional systems truly meet the needs of every learner, this book offers an optimistic, accessible, and highly relevant contribution to the conversation. It is an important read for parents, educators, school leaders, and anyone interested in building a more inclusive and future-focused education system. (feel free to shorten lads!)see more

Pick'N'Mix Education is one of those rare books that puts proper words to something a lot of us have been feeling for years. Ben Whitaker and Steve Hope take the tired "schools are broken" argument and sharpen it into something far more useful, that schools aren't broken at all, they're doing exactly the job they were built to do over a century ago, and that's precisely why they no longer fit. What I really liked is that it isn't a rant against teachers or a manifesto for tearing the system down. It's a calm, honest, sometimes very funny invitation to parents to stop accepting the pre-packed bag and start choosing with intent. The case studies of ten real organisations, the chapter on socialisation, and the action plan at the end give you something to actually do on a Monday morning, not just something to nod along with. If you're a parent, a governor, or anyone who cares about where education is heading, this is well worth your time.see more