Labour's School plans bad news for Northamptonshire pupils

9.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 24th Oct 2005

"Allowing every school the power to select pupils will create chaos and greater unfairness"

"Tony Blair's plans to reform secondary schools spell bad news for Northamptonshire pupils" says Richard Church, Leader of the Lib Dem group on Northamptonshire County Council. "The plans will mean schools will be selecting pupils, not parents selecting schools. Schools will be in open competition for the most able pupils, while many will fail to get into their local community school".

"Allowing every school the power to select pupils will create chaos and greater unfairness. What will happen to the children schools don't want? Labour is paying lip service to the idea of local authorities as champions of children while removing their ability to manage the fair allocation of school places. Schools need more freedom from Whitehall not just from the County Hall. Smaller classes, better trained teachers, and a more relevant curriculum should be the priorities for improving standards in secondary education.

We only need to look at an example in Northampton to illustrate how the policy is misguided. Northampton School for Boys is a former grant maintained school which operates admission policies independently of the Council. Many children who live close by fail to get a place. The suggestion that a new system of trust schools will ensure that parents get their first choice of schools is a myth.

Tony Blair wants to hand control of more schools to special interest groups and private industry who will put their own agenda before the needs of the local community."