Melissa Benn on four years as chair of Comprehensive Future
I am sad to stand down after four years as chair of Comprehensive Future but am very pleased to stay on as ... Read more
Educational Purpose: measurement or memories?
Recently a local online newspaper in Kent published the dramatic headline ‘The Best and Worst Schools in Kent based on GCSE results ... Read more
School choice isn’t working
It’s secondary school open day season here in Kent. The majority of children are waiting for their 11-plus results, so there’s uncertainty ... Read more
Selection at 11 – Time for a People’s Vote?
The 1998 Education (Grammar School Ballots) Regulations fixed the arcane rules for parental ballots on the future of selection by ability in ... Read more
What to do with £50 million?
Dr.Alan Bainbridge So, here is the problem: how do you allow all young people fair and equal access to an ... Read more
Schools that don’t work for everyone
The Government’s response to the consultation document Schools That Work for Everyone had been a long time coming, and not just because around ... Read more
Grammar schools are poor Tory policy, rigging the school market in a competition secondary moderns always lose
A Kent head teacher explained to me a common problem his school faced each September. Pupils would start leaving after just a few ... Read more
What is the point of testing children at 10?
In a previous commentary piece I announced my separation from the world of evidence. I asked those who support selecting children by ... Read more
Ofsted are the villains driving grammar school expansion
Ofsted are supposed to be an independent force for good in education, but they are harming our school system through their failure ... Read more
Ending selection made easy
David Chaytor Alan Parker’s proposals for new School Admissions Authorities and reforms to the 14-19 curriculum are logical and coherent. ... Read more