grammar schools | Schools Week

Andy Burnham and the too-vague really-lame education policy

“I will restore a local role in overseeing schools, rejecting the growing market of free schools and academies.” That’s it. That’s Andy Burnham’s big school vision as outlined in his manifesto. He will restore a local role in overseeing schools and new schools will not be academies. What a weird thing to pledge. For a […]

Ofsted’s summer term: the verdicts

As another term and the school year draws to a close, Sophie Scott looks at what Ofsted has been up to since Easter Overall grade distribution It is the end of a busy year for Ofsted inspectors with almost 4,700 inspections carried out across schools in England since the start of the academic year. As […]

Secondary moderns hit hard by coasting school definition

Secondary schools in areas where the brightest pupils are selected for grammar schools will be more likely to be classed as coasting under the government’s newly revealed definitions. Analysis by Education Datalab has found that nearly one in five secondary schools (18 per cent) in local authorities that also have grammar schools would be defined […]

Coasting concept is ‘fatally flawed’ for comprehensive and grammar schools

A school will be deemed to be coasting if 60% of its pupils fail to achieve 5 GCSE grades A*to C including English and Maths. This is an arbitrary benchmark defining the school. The policy which spawned the concept is directed not at the school’s pupils but at the school itself. Since the underlying principle […]

What does a fully-Conservative government mean for schools?

At a certain point last night I grabbed our election supplement and flipped nervously to the Conservative education pledge list. It was the first time I’d considered a party might need to deliver their list in full. So, what can we expect from a fully Conservative department? The Ministers David Cameron said before the election […]

The Ins and Outs of Selective Secondary Schools: A Debate

This ambitious book says that it aims to evaluate the modern scope of secondary school selection in all its complexity. To achieve this not inconsiderable task, the carefully edited publication contains contributions from more than 25 individuals who offer a wide range of perspectives on selection, They include Conservative and Labour politicians, academics, journalists and […]

‘If I were education secretary…’

Integrating private schools would bring down the Berlin Wall that grossly favours the 7 per cent on one side of it, and that remains an ugly, disfiguring scar on our society. Our private schools — and I use “our” in the loosest sense — are for the most part excellent institutions. The fundamental problem is […]

Here’s what politicians REALLY think about education

If you ask politicians, of all parties, to tell you what they really think would improve education – what do they say? Education is something that affects all of us. We all go through school, 49% of young people go to university, and later on in life as parents we want to ensure that the […]

11 Things You Might Have Missed In Ofsted’s ‘Most Able Students’ Report

Headlines today are focusing on Ofsted’s disappointment at schools over the progress of ‘most able’ students. Having a go at schools is an easy soundbite. It gets onto tv, it gives teachers a ‘kick’, it plays well to people who feel their child’s genius isn’t adequately recognised. But the soundbite misses out the 34 pages […]