Cameron launches Party’s Draft Manifesto for Education

David Cameron: We need urgent action to improve our schools Rt Hon David Cameron MP, Monday, January 18 2010    Since the New Year, we have been setting out our argument for the election. We want to make this the year for change. We can’t go on like this, and we need change to get the [...]

“Large minority” of state schools not entering students for “traditional” academic subjects

Interesting to learn from several media sources yesterday that “traditional” academic subjects are not being offered at A-level at a “large minority” of state schools. Obviously the large raft of 11-16 schools are unlikely to be doing A-levels at all, except perhaps a few gifted and talented students who took GCSE early and have already [...]

Were there good reasons for a high-achieving grammar school to be put in special measures?

Nick Seaton of the Campaign for Real Education writes today about the OFSTED report on Stretford Grammar School, which has been put into special measures, the first grammar school to suffer this fate.    Nick’s piece is on Conservative Home, here, and tells us quite a bit about OFSTED’s findings, which seem to concentrate on those [...]

Has parental choice of schools worked at all?

Interesting piece in today’s Independent where Deborah Orr considers whether parental choice on school admissions has achieved anything, do read it here in full. She starts by saying:- “Long ago when the concept of parental choice was introduced into the state education system, it was done under the assumption that this would somehow create a market in [...]