Schools and Choice by James Leggett

Continuing my series of blogs following my evening with Sir Michael Barber, I have been discussing some of the ideas to come from the conversation between Sir Michael and James Croft, Director of CMRE.

I left my previous blog on the topic of commercialism. Whilst the independent school sector has varying degrees of commercialism from big chains through to not for profits, the common theme is choice. The wealthy have always had a choice of the education they would like for their children, which many have not been able to afford.
The Academy and Free School Movement theoretically gives parents the choice of which school they would like to send their child to. In most of London, however, this does not really work because schools are so full, so it is more a case of where parents can get their children into rather than where they want them to go. Despite this, the intention was that increased choice (competition in other words) would drive up standards.

Indeed, there was evidence of that in my local town of sunny Beccles. In 2010, Sir John Leman School, the only secondary school choice, achieved 55% A*-C grades at GCSE. A free school was announced to open in the town and the Headmaster was understandably concerned. The Free School had at its core the promise to deliver high academic attainment, targeting a 75% A*-C pass rate. This summer, the Free School pupils undertook their first GCSE examinations and the town watched with bated breath. Sir John Leman School: 69%; Beccles Free School: 38%.

It could be argued, then, that this social experiment has worked, although not in the way many had predicted. The Free School was not the roaring success that was expected and the comp was not in danger of closing (indeed quite the opposite). The threat of the Free School drove the comprehensive school to improve its attainment levels. Quite why the Free School results were so disappointing or how the comprehensive school improved so drastically is not public knowledge yet, but next year’s results are hotly awaited. . .