To not understand why Katharine Birbalsingh is so controversial

Ok so it doesn't limit any choices then. GCSE choices generally don't - as long as the core subjects are followed. Why do people make stuff up.

I don’t think it limits as such. But it is beneficial to do separate if you have able pupils interested in sciences. Apparently better prep for A levels. But I don’t know how this translates to later achievements

Percentage of white British kids on roll? 1.1%

This stat alone tells you all you need to know.

Do you think 1.1% of the 245 applicants (for 120 available places) were white British?

The 245 applicants (which I agree is surprisingly low) for 120 Year 7 places still means that first-choice applicants are almost exactly double the available places. And this ignores the significant numbers of second- and third-choice applications.

What choices does it limit if you only do double science? There are no degree courses that require separate sciences (as far as I know)

@AquaPeer

Are you sure this is true for free schools? That wasn't my understanding but I could be wrong.

The local authority process the admissions but I had a feeling that free schools (because'free') can have the final say.

I don't disagree that discipline can be good in schools - most children thrive on order and consistency.

I dislike that she attributes much of the schools "success" to the discipline etc which is not the whole story.

1. kids at Michaela take an average of only 7 GCSEs, 2 less than most decent state schools. This frees up time to drill core subjects, english & maths but at the expense of breadth, and narrows opportunity for some. So actually the "high" results aren't really the result of the behaviour. Most schools could get those maths & english stats if they cut 2/3 other subjects to give the extra time.

2. Only 2.6% of michaela pupils do separate sciences at GCSE, a much lower proportion than the national average of just under 25%. This limits pupils choices later on.

3. the demographic of Michaela parents won't be replicated everywhere. Its a diverse urban area with a high proportion of students from 1st or 2nd generation immigrant families. The culture around education is strong and parents will push their kids to study. You will not get this in a sleepy, typically british dormitory town in wiltshire.

4. Michaela pushes particular, limited subject choices - for example religion over history & geography. They boost exam stats by having children for whom english is a second language, take a GCSE in their home language (see their gcse entries in persian, arabic, Spanish, chinese & gujurati, which they don't teach). Not a single entry in GCSE music, drama, graphic, technology, textiles etc.

@AquaPeer

The admissions are through Brent like the state secondary schools in the borough. They simply offer places on allocation criteria and Brent publish all their admissions information on their applications portal

How could she (or any headteacher) select?

By running a 'free school', which as the name suggests is 'free' of the rubric and control of the local education authority (LEA).

It was creating division in the playground in a school which is explicitly secular.

If you want to pray go to a different school.

How was it? They weren’t asking for a prayer room, just to be allowed to pray. How would you feel if she told a Christian student they couldn’t pray on school grounds?

How was it? They weren’t asking for a prayer room, just to be allowed to pray. How would you feel if she told a Christian student they couldn’t pray on school grounds?

How was it? They weren’t asking for a prayer room, just to be allowed to pray. How would you feel if she told a Christian student they couldn’t pray on school grounds?

How was it? They weren’t asking for a prayer room, just to be allowed to pray. How would you feel if she told a Christian student they couldn’t pray on school grounds?

She should be congratulated. Teacher retention would also be improved if classrooms were orderly and they could spend their time doing what they were trained to do.

Michaela seems to use a model of strict behaviour rules that works well for a majority of, but not all, children. It's outside the state system and therefore no child is forced to go there, so there's an element of self-selection with children who can't sit up straight and face the teacher not being enrolled.

I was impressed with Birbalsingh's response to a legal challenge last year from a parent of a child who wanted a prayer room to be provided - the child had been disciplined for praying in the playground and encouraging others to do so. She argued that the school was founded as secular and did not provide any prayer facilities for any religion, and won the case. I think this was really important - if no child is forced to go there, why shouldn't the school be secular? The position of the parent was ludicrous and provocative in my opinion - analogous with demanding a meat dish in a vegan restaurant.

Interestingly, there's another thread running at the moment asking teachers what they don't like about teaching at the moment. No 1 issue coming out is kids behaviour. There's quite a few ex teachers who cite leaving the profession because of kids appalling behaviour.

KB at Michaela has really got this issue in hand with her strict methods that some are railing at. Surely, she should be congratulated for that at least.

They don't like his diet! 😂

Did anyone actually explain why Jordan Peterson is so terrible? I read the first four pages but "JP is awful" seemed to be stated as an established truth, but no-one explained why.

Did anyone actually explain why Jordan Peterson is so terrible? I read the first four pages but "JP is awful" seemed to be stated as an established truth, but no-one explained why.