GRAMMAR SCHOOLS

GRAMMAR SCHOOLS

I happened to believe that Grammar Schools are a good thing, I never went to a Grammar School nor did any of my children so I have no axe to grind. To me it makes sense that you separate those who are more academically minded, that doesn’t make those who did not go to Grammar Schools inferior, it makes them different with different needs. I have coached Judo etc for 37 years in that time I have directed pupils in different directions Good Fighter become competitors, those who can teach become coaches, those who have an eye for detail become referees and so on all those put together make up the discipline of Judo. To suggest you need to go to a Grammar school to succeed is rubbish.

The one thing I totally disagree with is the concept that you should have choice in the State education system; all that choice has done is create good schools and very bad schools. State Schools should all be good and I would welcome the return of Catchments areas. When I went to school in the 60’s if you live West side of Park road you went to Westlands, East Side St johns and Rowena and although I left school at 15 to take up an apprenticeship I came out with a good core knowledge as did nearly all my compatriots. Why? Because every school was expected to be good and no excuses.

So let us learn from the past the Comprehensive has been a dismal failure so let go back to Secondary Moderns and Grammar school under strict disciplinarian regime, with two accept ion let them control their own funding and increase the power of the school Governors.

It can not be any worse then the mess the so called liberated educational elite have left our schools in, its time the proper teachers had a voice.


Martin Clarke