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Shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg on the problem with private schools.

By New Statesman Published 20 July 2012 7:22
Boys make their way to classes at Eton College. Photograph: Getty Images.
Boys make their way to classes across the historic cobbled School Yard of Eton College. Photograph: Getty Images.

Labour's shadow education secretary Stephen Twigg sounds a decidedly un-Blairite note on private schools.

Without doubt, a major barrier to achieving a more just society and greater social mobility is the power of the private schools.

Tags: Labour  Stephen Twigg  Quote of the day  Private schools

 
 

9 comments

AAMVN's picture

Mon, 2012-07-23 08:48 — AAMVN (not verified)

It's not necessary to ban private schools. Just remove their charitable status and require universtities to only accept a quota of students from private schools. These are two simple measures that cost nothing and actually generate income.

What has really prevented social mobility is the lack of financial support for students from average and poorer families. It is now hardly worth it for most poorer students to take on the debts generated by several years in education.

Social mobility is always an uphill struggle. Those who have succeded will want to give their own children the best possible start.

I think it's a meritocracy that is needed rather than 'social mobility'. But I don't think there is much support for a merit based system in Britain.

P. Sheal's picture

Fri, 2012-07-20 19:55 — P. Sheal (not verified)

Oh dear! Stephen Twigg is clearly too young to remember how many times well-intentioned left-wingers have advocated the abolition of private schools. I have to admit that I supported this view myself in the 60s, until I experienced the disastrous results of abolishing the grammar schools. Hundreds of good schools were destroyed and the academic opportunities of tens of thousands of working and middle-class children were limited. Private schools no longer had much competition and increasingly dominated top universities. After the 1964 election, we believed that public school domination of politics was over - little did we realise that Labour's education policies would help bring it back. Rather than abolish private schools ( who might easily move to Ireland), Labour should come up with practical ideas for improving state education so that it can compete.

Trenchant1's picture

Fri, 2012-07-20 12:45 — Trenchant1 (not verified)

What a loaded statement that is. What is a just society? Who decides what is just and what isn't? What is social mobility? Why is social mobility any business of the government? And what is this mysterious power of the private schools?

If the power of the private schools is that they manage to educate people very well, then why not make all schools private, get rid of the national curriculum and let them all compete for fee-paying students. Then the private schools could get rid of the thousands of crappy teachers that inhabit our government schools and employ good teachers. Then they could get rid of the tens of thousands of crappy, disruptive students who inhabit our government schools and spoil the education of those who want to learn.

I agree with Mr Twigg, to an extent. Don't allow the private schools to have a monopoly on this 'power'. Share it with all the schools. Get the state out of education. We would end up with a much better educated population and, dare I say it, a more socially mobile and just society.

RobertBlackburn's picture

Fri, 2012-07-20 13:20 — RobertBlackburn (not verified)

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Trenchant1's picture

Fri, 2012-07-20 15:00 — Trenchant1 (not verified)

Did your finger get stuck to the keyboard?

womble89's picture

Fri, 2012-07-20 18:48 — womble89 (not verified)

Many children can't afford school meals, let alone school fees.

The dominance of private schools puts disadvantaged children at a further disadvantage. Not just disadvantaged kids come to think of it, but most kids, only around 1 in 10 children are privately educated I think.

Trenchant1's picture

Sat, 2012-07-21 02:27 — Trenchant1 (not verified)

Stephen Twigg spoke of 'power'. You speak of 'dominance'? What exactly do you mean? Are you saying that these schools are excellent schools? Over whom do they exert their power and dominance? Your argument that private schools put disadvantaged children at a further disadvantage does not make sense. Does the fact that you have food put starving children in Africa at a further disadvantage? If you were to starve yourself, would they be better off? No. If you close all private schools, will that improve the education of children in some crappy inner-city comprehensive? No. It will bring down the children at private schools but it won't help to raise the level of poor kids in bad schools.

Government schools are bad (for the most part) because they are run by the government. The government is useless at everything it does. If anyone were allowed to open a school, without all the excessive regulation imposed by government, thousands of new schools of all kinds would open, with a range of curricula and a range of fees, from very low to very high. Good schools would thrive and grow. Bad schools would close down. It is variety that encourages excellence, not homogeneity. The government tries to force all children (apart from the children of the rich and the children of politicians, who go to private schools) into the same mould. Do we really want all our children to be brainwashed by the state?

Private education would be better and cheaper than that provided by government, because private education would not require the armies of bureaucrats that government education does. Government is force. We are forced by government edict to educate our children. Home schooling is allowed but most people don't know that, so most children are forced to go to school, whether they want to or not, whether it does them any good or not. The school leaving age is to be raised to 17 soon and later to 18. This is ludicrous. Those who want to continue their education should be encouraged to do so but they should definitely not be forced to do so.

Private education should not be available only to the elite. It should be available to all. Cut taxes by the amount spent on education and allow anyone to open a school. We would soon have the best educated children on the planet, children who could think for themselves.

womble89's picture

Sat, 2012-07-21 11:55 — womble89 (not verified)

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Trenchant1's picture

Sat, 2012-07-21 16:58 — Trenchant1 (not verified)

You need to get that finger seen to. What is it that you don't understand?

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