Tag Archives: selection

Can we celebrate success without rewriting history?

Posted on August 16, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

The headteacher of the Newham-based 16-18 free school; London Academy of Excellence (LAE) in commenting on their A-level results to the Guardian last Thursday was quoted as saying: “In Newham, there were hundreds and thousands of young people who wanted … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Post-16: education’s wild frontier

Posted on July 21, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Sixth form education in England has become the wild frontier for selection and marketisation with a plethora of new providers, whether 11-18 academies or 16-18 free schools trying to outdo each other in setting ever more exclusive entry requirements and competing … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Market madness #1 Oversubscribed?

Posted on May 22, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

A series of short posts about the marketisation of public education: #1 Oversubscribed? “6 applicants for every place”…”heavily oversubscribed”. These sorts of claims are often used to establish how popular, and by implication successful, schools and colleges are. They should … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A tale of two boroughs

Posted on May 15, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

I want to start by telling the story of 16-18 education in two London boroughs; a story which illustrates some of the things I think we should be concerned about. Borough A was an economically disadvantaged area where most secondary schools … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Post-16 funding: making the wrong choices

Posted on April 18, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

I agree with quite a lot of what Michael Gove says about the purpose of education and I like his championing of egalitarian aims. I welcome the fact that he has moved the Conservative party away from selection pre-16. I … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Existing state-funded sixth forms offer better value for money

Posted on March 30, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Private fee-charging schools promote themselves as market leaders in post-16 education and are increasingly involved in launching new publicly funded sixth form projects such as the London Academy of Excellence and Westminster Harris sixth form. But do they offer value … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Education policy, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Don’t be young!

Posted on March 12, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

It’s a tough time to be young. Since 2010, young people have taken quite a battering from policies and cuts which have narrowed their opportunities and limited their prospects of becoming active, fulfilled members of society. All this in a context of … Continue reading →

Posted in Education | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The comprehensive college

Posted on February 24, 2014 by Eddie Playfair

Why do we persist in describing our sixth form college as comprehensive when the term has been unfashionable for some time and there is no requirement to have an inclusive admissions policy? We’re proud to be comprehensive and, for us, … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Young people between hope and despair

Posted on December 30, 2013 by Eddie Playfair

Young people’s natural reserves of hope are running low in the current recession. As a result, much of Britain’s youth now seem strangely suspended between hope and despair. In the London borough of Newham, reasons for despair are not hard … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, NewVIc | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment