This blog is appalled by these wild and unnecessary education reforms on several counts. The last lot have not bedded in. Faith schools should have no place in a multi-cultural society in the first place and to allow them to become closed shops on religious grounds is plain stupid at a time when we are trying to fight radicalization and bring communities together. More grammar schools are popular with the sharp elbowed better off but do very little to help those who should benefit, such as are headed for a benefit trap in a deprived area with zero good employment opportunities for the young.
Streamed all ability schools with further diversion opportunities at 13+ to vocational skills is a national need, emergency even, which has to be addressed because of a chronic skills shortage, the more so post Brexit. Grammar schools select at 11+ which is premature and tend to feed the financial professions, even if later intake is allowed as gifted pupils come to the surface. We have more than enough lawyers but not enough engineers and computer scientists. In other words we have too many people who charge for their time but not enough creating the wealth to pay them. So we borrow. Enough said.
Or is this reform agenda really noise to shield the government from embarrassment at its Brexit policy vacuum?