The selection process helped me, without question. There WAS social mobility
But we shouldn’t rush to usher back the 11-plus and the grammar schools that follow.
This isn’t a case of somebody having his cake and eating it. I was at school in Northern Ireland in the ’80s. The socio-political and religious reasons for working class Catholic kids being pushed to achieve at education needs days and several books to disassemble. Also, the Northern Ireland Assembly has been desperately trying, and failing, to get rid of the 11-plus for several years.
The question is also moot in Scotland. The Scottish system, though far from perfect, has worked out ways to allow children to succeed without selection for quite some time.
There are currently 164 grammar schools in operation across England, educating around five per cent of the post-primary population. It could be argued that a less controllable system currently operates to benefit the better off. School leagues tables, a simple idea that has driven unintended consequences, mean that schools performing well in exams are identified and parents move into catchment areas of these good schools. This forces up prices and means increasingly good state schools draw from the middle-classes and exclude working class kids. So why not have a selection system that isn’t based on family wealth?
Because it’s still exclusive. Because to implement a system where grammar schools are the goal would be vast and hugely costly if it were genuinely to give everybody a chance. And also, because there will always be kids who develop late, who would benefit from academic rigour but who may not be ready for the 11-plus.
There is a more simple answer. Help teachers. Rather than making education more exclusive, make it more inclusive. Make ALL schools better. And the fundamental way to do this is to train and support teachers better.
Great teachers provide great educations. Instead of political interference at every turn, instead of pouring billions into restructuring the system (with no guarantee of success), put that money in training and salaries of teachers. They hold the key. They can inspire and drive and offer social mobility. The answer is in front of us. We just need to learn.
If you have any comments please email me at paul.mcnamee@bigissue.com, tweet @pauldmcnamee, or send a letter to The Big Issue, 43 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 1HW
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