Schools mayhem
From Beverly Ellis
Sir: I cannot help but think that Boris Johnson is being disingenuous when he asks why selection is ‘banned’ in the state-maintained sector (Diary, 11 February). However, just in case his question is sincere, I will explain. The state education service is obliged to provide an education for all children, not just talented youngsters or the offspring of affluent parents. If the able pupils are ‘creamed off’ into state-run selective schools, as used to be the case, the majority who fail the entrance tests have to be educated together somewhere. These schools used to be called ‘secondary modern’ schools, where the higher concentration of behavioural and learning difficulties could reach critical mass, often causing the most able teachers to vote with their feet. The proposal that late developers who failed the selection at 11 would be able to move from the ‘secondary modern’ to the state ‘grammar’ very rarely happened in practice.
If state schools were to select only the most academically able pupils, as private schools are free to do, this would be akin to NHS hospitals admitting only patients with minor ailments and a good prognosis.
Beverly Ellis
Lowestoft, Suffolk
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