Lessons to learn
Sir: Your leading article ‘Requires improvement’ (7 September) rightly raised concerns that a curriculum review in England might reverse the excellent progress in schools following the Gove reforms. Fortunately, there are two very good examples of what happens when you replace rigour and the acquisition of knowledge with left-wing dogma and woolly thinking. The introduction of the Curriculum for Excellence in Scotland has led to a dramatic fall in standards in Scottish education and a resultant collapse in its Pisa [Programme for International Student Assessment] ranking. Last year Wales recorded its lowest-ever Pisa ranking. Its new national curriculum is closely based on the Scottish model, so it would seem likely that Wales will suffer yet further and a generation of children will be let down by a flawed model.
A quick review of the career of Becky Francis, who has been appointed to lead the government’s review of curriculum and assessment, should cause further alarm. Most of her academic work appears to relate to gender, feminism, class and ethnicity. I don’t think we should be surprised at this, but those expecting excellence, standards, rigour and academic achievement to feature as the key drivers might be disappointed. England could be on course to follow Scotland and Wales down the path of educational mediocrity, and increase yet further the gap in attainment between the state and independent sectors.
Martyn Thomas
Bryngwyn, Monmouthshire
School of thought
Sir: Ofsted should turn to Waugh’s Decline and Fall for a ready-made school ranking system (Barometer, 7 September). Mr Levy of scholastic agents Church and Gargoyle grades them thus: Leading School, First-rate School, Good School and School. ‘Frankly,’ said Mr Levy, ‘school is pretty bad.’
Stephen Chittenden
Great Shelford, Cambridgeshire
Campaign trail
Sir: Charles Moore’s revelation that the government’s ‘Lead on Fox Hunting Crime’, Devon’s assistant chief constable Matt Longman, attended a League Against Cruel Sports event but declined the British Hound Sports Association’s invitation to National Trail Day (Notes, 7 September) echoes the Labour party’s rejection of the BHSA’s application to take an exhibition stand at the forthcoming Labour party conference, while allowing LACS to do so.
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