Schools
We are in a tangle here. Either all schools are of a high standard so the nearest in your neighbourhood is right for your child or, if they vary, and there are not enough places in the best schools, there has to be a system of selection. The mantra is parents should have choice, but if the choice is between the best and the worst it is not a choice at all.
What is needed is a real choice of learning paths with different destinations to suit the diversity of need in our society and economy, so that proactive choice by parent and pupil, based on attainment and aptitude, leads to qualification or skills for a fulfilling life to come.