A few weeks ago I was asked to a friend’s son’s christening. “We haven’t found God, just a really good church school” she scrawled across the bottom of the invitation. In days gone by I might have huffed and puffed about the hypocrisy of it all. But now I’m a parent myself and school admission is hovering on the horizon.
We share the dilemma faced by thousands of families across London. Our home is just about equidistant between a fairly average Church of England school and a local primary that has been in special measures for the past two years. The idealist in me says stand by your principles — I believe in community and the impact supportive parents can have on a school. The parent in me says: do whatever is best for your child’s education.
But the choice, such as it is, also makes me cross. Why are so many inner London schools still so poor that parents feel they have to lie about religion, compromise their principles, or even — and most can’t afford this option — move house to secure a half-decent place? We’re not even on to secondary yet.
Education Secretary Michael Gove claims he gets it. His academies bill — passed in the Commons last night– allows schools to opt out of local authority control and be directly funded by government. They will have greater freedom over the curriculum and teachers’ pay and access to extra funds currently administered by councils.