EDUCATION Secretary Michael Gove says that if 30 per cent or more of a school’s pupils fail to achieve five GCSEs then that school has failed and the headteacher will face the possibility of being sacked if results don’t improve.
He should think again. Schools achieve good GCSE results when there is excellent teaching, good discipline and the pupils are intelligent and hard-working. It also helps if pupils have supportive parents who can assist with the learning process at home.
On the other hand, it is more difficult for schools in areas of high deprivation to achieve results as impressive as those in more prosperous areas, no matter how inspired the teachers are.
What matters is how much progress individual pupils make bearing in mind the difficulties they, and their teachers, have to overcome. Judging which schools are successful simply on the basis of GCSE results is a big mistake. Mr Gove should know better.
The Chief Inspector of Schools, and his individual inspectors, have a difficult job to do in assessing the difference that schools are making to pupils even though their GCSE results are relatively poor. But it is essential they do so despite having a minister who thinks GCSE results are all that matter in assessing a school’s effectiveness.
Jim Allan, Hartlepool.
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