Kate Maltby Kate Maltby

Barry’s Nightmare School 

It sometimes feels as if there has never been as much despair over the state of our education system as there is today. Despite the capacity of the Royal Wedding to awaken our heaviest-breathing collective fantasies of a return to serfdom, as we all excitedly queue up to shake the hand and curtsey to a sweet, nice girl lucky enough to marry a sweet, nice man lucky enough to emerge from a womb lucky enough to live in Kensington Palace, our governments repeatedly make the claim that Britain is, at its best, a meritocracy.

It sometimes feels as if there has never been as much despair over the state of our education system as there is today. Despite the capacity of the Royal Wedding to awaken our heaviest-breathing collective fantasies of a return to serfdom, as we all excitedly queue up to shake the hand and curtsey to a sweet, nice girl lucky enough to marry a sweet, nice man lucky enough to emerge from a womb lucky enough to live in Kensington Palace, our governments repeatedly make the claim that Britain is, at its best, a meritocracy.

Kate Maltby
Written by
Kate Maltby
Kate Maltby writes about the intersection of culture, politics and history. She is a theatre critic for The Times and is conducting academic research on the intellectual life of Elizabeth I.

Topics in this article

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in