Toby's new school
Is it just me or does anyone else feel irritated by Toby Young? It's not that I don't think that having another excellent school in acton is a bad idea, and I certainly share his view on open access. But what I really feel strongly about is that it plays on parent fears about sending their children to the local state school. For Toby to go to such lengths to set up a new school in time for his own children to go there implies that he is really scared about the terrible things that might happen to them if they go to Acton High school, or for that matter Twyford (I understand he's got that base covered in terms of church attendance). My two teenage boys attend Acton High and are on track to do well in their GCSEs. They haven't turned to crime or been bullied or beaten up, they go on endless school trips and are even offered Latin lessons if they want them , (although Toby's touching faith in the civilising influence of the Latin language begs the question what went wrong with the Romans then? -hardly the most civilised of civilisations, even if they did coin the phrase). Pushy parents: if you want your kids to do well at school they will do fine at Acton high, or Twyford or most good schools. Because what is important is parental expectation and support, not learning Latin or even the school's 'ethos'. But many kids don't have pushy parents, and they are the kids that are less likely to do well. And the problem is that they are the ones who are less likely to get into Toby's school because their parents won't be joining the scrum to get in. So, far from helping those kids, they will simply be excluded by default. And if his school gets funded, you can bet your bottom dollar that Acton High and Twyford will get less money in the long run. They will also to less well in the league tables because the pushy parents who do their kids GCSEs for them will be sending their kids to Toby Towers. What we actually need is Acton is to do away with the ridiculous notion of competition between schools: in a time of scarce resources we need to share facilities and teachers and expertise in Acton to make sure all our kids get a great education and enjoy school. And pushy parents: can you just relax a bit?
Rachel Ormerod ● 5971d3 Comments ● 5969d