Nick Clegg State Education and Hypocrisy?

[deadbeatdad]

Is Nick Clegg a bit of a hypocritic when it comes to state schools

Lib Dem manifesto want to effectively eliminate faith schools - limit staff appointments on faith grounds and make faith schools adopt the same admissions criteria as community schools.

Yet his own children go to Catholic primary schools and he has himself said state secondary schools in London represent a fall off a 'cliff edge' in terms of standards so he hasn't ruled out sending his children private at secondary level.

If he thinks london state secondaries are not good enough for his children why does he want to make faith schools in the capital to same as non-faith alternatives.

I am surprised he hasn't been challenged on this (rather than the snide pieces about his Westminster schooling).

Thoughts?

If his local Catholic school was dreadful and full of undesirables would he and his wife still insist on sending their dcs there? Like hell they would.

This same comment was made about the Blairs when they chose to send their first son across London to the Oratory, rather than a local comprehensive catholic school in Islington.

Part of the package that went with marrying a non-catholic was that the catholic partner had to endeavor to bring the children up as catholics.

There is a hypocrisy, I readily admit that, in that government ministers should be moving heaven and earth to make the state school system, used by the vast majority of British children, replete with good local schools.

The bizarre illusions of 'choice' upon which Gove appears fixated (and Labour secretaries of state like Kelly previously) is the hypocrisy that pisses me off the most.

The complexity and inefficiency of school governance means that it's easy for everyone to blame each other. See, even I'm doing it.

Yeah, but if his local Catholic school was dire, and the local non-denominational one was great, you know that they (or Blairs or anyone else for that matter) wouldn't be so keen to adhere to their religious principles.

There is brand new catholic school opening in Richmond, short bus ride from -NC's house in Putney - no need to schlep across the river to the oratory

Talking of hyprocrite politicians, I have not forgotten Shirley Williams either. As Labour's Sec. of Ed, chaired abolition of grammars and then had her own daughter admitted to a surviving grammar (Latymer) hoodwinking the admission criteria, some say fraudulently.

Sorry tiffin boys but you're talking rubbish about Shirley Williams - her daughter went to Godolphin & Latymer when it was a fully funded by ILEA voluntary aided school. When it changed its status to become independent again she removed her daughter and sent her to local comp

By all means get annoyed with politicians' hypocrisy but get your facts right first - and bear in mind that false allegations of fraud are libellous

Really, then read this..... the section on controversies.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Williams

Really, then read this..... the section on controversies.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Williams

And this one is review of Shirley's own book. Extracts tells about the novel arrangements.

www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/climbing-the-bookshelves-by-shirley-williams-1807359.html

No offence meant to any one, but the point is politicians are parents too and when it comes to their own children, they would put their children first over the 'principles' which are for the 'people'.

Diane Abbott, Ruth Kelly are just few examples of being parent first. Neither would Harriet Harman send her son to the Comprehensive, rather than the grammar school, her party wants to abolish.

There was no catchment area for Godolphin - if you passed the exam with a high enough mark you got in - I know as I was there at the same time ( although a few years below) - the school changed status in my first year there and Rebecca Williams left to go to a comprehensive

The Independent's article is also by an ex-pupil.

However, the point I was making is that the politicians would put their children first, rather than their preachings to us.

I don't think so! Godolphin was a all girls school!

What Sean O'Grady actually wrote was, 'it was only one of many fine state schools, including mine, to be lost forever,'. The article also said that Williams lived a short distance from the school but that she also took in lodgers - though it is not clear from the article if the lodger's daughter attended Godolphin. A factual inaccuracy, though I don't know if Williams or O'Grady was responsible, is that it was a direct grant school; it wasn't, it was a Voluntary Aided, totally non-feepaying school before it became independent.

Yes, that bastion of accuracy, Wikipedia.

And the journalist does rather approach Williams from a rather slanted position - "comprehensive mistake". How droll.

I don't know the ins and outs of Williams. But to me there is a major difference between a policitian saying

A. "People should not send children to grammars/indies".

B. "Grammars should be abolished, and I am working towards it".

If A sends DC to grammar then yes, hypocrisy (the postulation of moral standards to which one's own behavious does not confirm - OED). Saying one thing and doing another.

If B does it because they are doing the best for their child in the system that exists (but they rather would not exist), it is not "hypocrisy".

Thank you CecilyP for correcting. Ofcourse, G&L was and still is all girls school.

The article had extracts from Shirley's book. Reading wiki articles, it seems William family owned the house near G&L; but were not living there at that time and therefore, all that arrangement with friend's children etc.

I used to like Shirley a lot until we got into this grammar mania. Wish we still had all those 1300+ grammars for the bright children.