Commenting on the Education Secretary’s announcement that grammar schools will help ‘ordinary working families’ Labour county council candidate for North Petherton JANE GRENFELL has spoken out at the divisive proposals with a hard hitting statement condemning them for being divisive, diversionary and of no benefit to poorer families.
Speaking on the campaign trail in her North Petherton ward Jane said “At a time of a school funding and trying to maintain bus services to take children to their local secondary school. Plus the problems that schools experience with teacher recruitment and retention, it is ridiculous that Justine Greening is concentrating on the expansion of grammar schools”.
Jane added “The Somerset County Council refused to follow the lead of other Councils to oppose the introduction of Grammar Schools, which will do nothing for social mobility; creating a raft of secondary modern schools in their wake and returning Somerset to a two tier education system that was deemed unfit decades ago”.
Quotas ‘a mockery’
The education secretary has not confirmed there will be quotas for pupils from disadvantaged families making a mockery of claims that this policy will benefit poorer families.
Jane continued: “How do you select children from so called “ordinary working families”, does this suggest that children will be selected by completing a means test, relating to the income of their family or will there be a lottery approach, whereby pupils will be selected by chance”
Oppose introduction of Grammar schools
“If elected to the Somerset County Council my priority will be to oppose any introduction of Grammar schools for Bridgwater pupils and I will make sure that comprehensive schools are funded properly, to support the education for all pupils in the area. Grammar schools were not part of the Conservative 2015 manifesto and they are not referred to in the SCC Education Strategy. Children should not have their futures decided by a test at 11years old”.
NORTH PETHERTON BATTLE
North Petherton is a close 3-way battlefield between Labour, Lib Dem and the sitting Tory. Jane is fighting hard to win the seat and has been out on the campaign trail from day one knocking on doors, delivering leaflets, going to meetings and supporting parents on their campaigns. The ward includes the town of North Petherton plus the Stockmoor and Willstock areas that adjoin Bridgwater and the surrounding villages. Jane is the newly elected Chair of Bridgwater Branch Labour Party
Photos from Janes Campaign
I am delighted to see Labour candidates speaking out in the argument about grammar schools. Whne Mionehead had a grammar school it got about 6 pupils per year to university. After the comprehensive re-organisation in West Somerset, the upper school (now college) sent about 30 pupils per year to university, from a slightly smaller catchment area. So ALL pupils benefitted from comprehensive education. I know this to be true: I was Head of Careers there for 24 years.