About Emma
Emma has worked for The Good Schools Guide since 2000 and has visited hundreds of independent and state schools during that time, interviewing heads, talking to pupils and helping parents to find suitable schools for their children. After studying history and politics at the University of York and gaining a master’s at the University of Manchester, she worked as a staff journalist for national newspapers and magazines for many years. She has worked as a freelance education writer for 20 years, with clients including The Times, The Independent, The Guardian, TES, SecEd and the Department for Education.
Since 2014 she has been the editor of The Week Independent Schools Guide, a biannual education magazine published with The Week, and has also lectured in further education colleges. She has a keen interest in degree apprenticeships and worked with the Learning and Skills Council for several years. Emma has written five books, one of them an interviewing textbook for student and trainee journalists. She lives in Dorset and London and has two children who were educated in both the state and independent sectors. ‘I’m fascinated by all aspects of education,’ she says, ‘from the respective benefits of single sex and co-ed schools to the advantages of taking A levels or the IB.’