Gove becomes first Tory education secretary to send child to state secondary school

[AgaPanthers]

www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/mar/04/michael-gove-education-secretary-child-state-secondary-school

Are we supposed to be impressed?

It's the most over-subscribed school in Westminster (1036 applicants for 150 places), religiously selective, single-sex, the majority of the intake is above average, and it's the highest performing school in Westminster: www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/education/school_tables/secondary/11/html/eng_maths_213.stm?compare=

It claims to operate a fair banding system, with 25% above average, 50% average, and 25% below. Miraculously however, its intake shows just 9% below average, and 52% above average.

www.education.gov.uk/cgi-bin/schools/performance/school.pl?urn=138313

Education secretary gets daughter into massively oversubscribed state school shock.

Quite easy to get in, if you can pull the strings, there are 15 'language' places, for example, reserved for language ability, and then the 'fair banding' replaces are ranked by religious affiliation, with points for weekly church attendance for five years, but since it's inherently unfair, who knows how it is really administered.

Aga, there's another thread on this here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/education/2015893-First-Conservative-education-secretary-to-send-child-to-state-secondary?

The Fair Admissions Campaign have already had some success in challenging the school's admissions policy. Not sure if the changes apply to 2014 or 2015 though.

OMG! This tell-all pie

As a secondary teacher I hate to approve of a Gove decision but I think this is admirable. I might disagree with many of his decisions ( early entry for example ) but this does show faith in the state system.

Sorry, elbow shoved on crowded train ...

Was about to say, this tell-all piece in the daily wail by Gove's wife is even more sick making: www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-2573444/SARAH-VINE-Why-Ive-chosen-send-daughter-state-school.html

Why no mention of the hours spent in church to secure a place with the right kind of riff-raff?

I don't know: Sarah Vine's piece is honest enough - "it's not Sinkhouse High". You can bet your bottom dollar that if that school had been allocated to her, her DD wouldn't be going there.

Of course, since hubby has been Education Sec for far too long some while, why hasn't he managed to eliminate the Sinkhouse High's altogether?

It is nowhere near Sinkhouse High...another cop out by the ruling elite.

Mind you who would send their DC to 'sinkhouse high' if they had a choice????? No-one ... trouble is some don't have that choice

It shows he believes state schools can be good enough for his PFB. That's quite a novelty in an education secretary. Good on him and his DW.

I know plenty of rich/powerful folk who would consider that school to be dire and full of dreadful oiks, even as the rest of us scrabble to get in.

Even if you disagree with his policies in general surely this decision is a good thing? What would have been a better decision? It smells like some people here are knee-jerk hating anything Gove does.

Greycoat is not the highest performing state school in Westminster.
St Marylebone is! The latter achieves 68 per cent Ebacc, against 63 per cent for Greycoat. Similarly, 91 per cent, A to C, Eng and Maths, against Greycoat's 86 per cent. St M. is also higher over the three year average and has greater value added. (Dept of Ed figures 2013.)
Not that much in it, admittedly!
I don't think GC is the most oversubscribed either. I'm sure someone will be along to correct me on that.

Bit like Blair sending his son to the Oratory

"It shows he believes state schools can be good enough for his PF"

That's a start. His next task is to show they can be good enough even without socially selective admissions criteria. Most people don't want to, or aren't organised enough, go to church weekly for 5 years in order to get their child into a "good enough" state school.

Grey Coat had the most applicants, 1036 for 151 places.

St Marylebone 963 for 150.

So yes Grey Coat IS the most over-subscribed.

St Marylebone gets slightly fewer low ability girls in. They are much of a muchness between the two of them.