Brighton is set to become the first education authority to allocate school places at oversubscribed secondary schools by ballot. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6403017.stm . This policy move, by a Labour controlled council, has been opposed by the Conservatives http://education.guardian.co.uk/schools/story/0,,2023208,00.html
I disagree, I would argue that this is a fairer system for allotting a scarce resource. The alternative is that allocation continues on the basis of whether families can afford to buy homes near the sought after schools.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
The lottery system is definitely fairer. At the moment, house prices within the catchment area of good state schools are so high, that it is just another form of selection. The danger is that it could scare middle-class families away from state education altogether, which would be a disaster.
If it works, it should improve the level of all state schools in the Brighton area after a few years, but it's rough justice for the transition years, for parents who have put a lot of thought into where they will live because of local schools. Loads of money should be poured into the low-achieving schools to sweeten the pill.
I think this is fairer too as getting into a certain school is normally about where you live and with anything up to a £25,000 premium on houses within good catchment areas it is clear that the better off have an advantage. Not much fun for parents who have recently moved though! Not only will their child stand a chance of not getting into the preferred school but the value of the house will decrease too!
Post a Comment