So we’re waking up to the dreaded prospect of the coalition of chaos that Theresa May warned us of – and she’s only got herself to blame. And although many are celebrating her embarrassment I cannot see any joy in a country left with no decisive leadership. At a time when we are facing the…
Research published this week claims to prove that social mobility will not be improved by grammar schools as too few working-class children attend them. Well, yes, that is true going by the status quo and the reason it’s true is that there are too few grammar schools! Currently, there are only 164 grammar schools across…
Growing up in a working-class household in Kent I could never have envisaged that one day I’d be advising ministers on the education of our children. My mother was a cleaner who left school at 12 and my father was a railway guard. Neither were educated but both encouraged me to do the very best…
The government has recently announced a raft of measures to improve our country’s industry – with education playing a key role in this. I have long argued that what we need is as varied an education system as possible so our children’s individual talents are best harnessed. As well as raising the academic standards for…
If relinquishing the ban on new grammar schools is going to have a real chance of increasing social mobility it’s crucial that more deprived areas are targeted first. I have often argued that parents need a choice of all education offerings in whichever town they live. Currently, there are far too many parents with no…