In his classroom in impoverished Walworth, south London, teacher Alex Beard wrestles with explaining Macbeth’s dagger scene to his 15-year-old charges. He mourns the fact that he cannot help all of them excel in the approaching public exams so crucial to their future. He helps them over the line to the minimum grade they need to carry on in education — some even achieve an A grade. But the frustrating experience inspires the idealistic young teacher to set off on a global quest. He wants to find the magic formula for teaching and learning.

Natural Born Learners documents Beard’s intellectual journey through the schools and research centres that have made inroads into tackling a great puzzle: what should a 21st-century education look like and how can it help all young people, not just the most able or privileged, flourish.

Readers should accompany Beard on his travels — not only because the subject of his inquiry is so important, but because, after myriad engaging anecdotes and encounters, he arrives at some conclusions with universal relevance. Life-long learning and early cognitive development are top priorities, as is fostering critical thinking and creativity as well as the human qualities of empathy and grit.