October 09, 2003(posted 7503 days ago)Letwin snubs local school with begging gibe
PA NEWS
Oliver Letwin, the Shadow Home Secretary, has declared that he would rather “go out on the streets and beg” than send his children to an inner city comprehensive, it was reported today.The Eton-educated senior Tory said that he would consider sending his children to state schools in his Dorset constituency.
But he would rather “give my right arm” to go private in the London borough of Lambeth where he lives during the week than send them to the comprehensive there, London's Evening Standard reported.
The school in question is believed to be Lilian Baylis School in Kennington and Gary Phillips, the headteacher, said that pupils and parents would be upset by Mr Letwin’s remarks.
At a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party conference in Blackpool, Mr Letwin reportedly said that he was trying to get his 10-year-old daughter Laura into a “particular public school in London” as he wanted to see his family during the week.
Mr Letwin continued: “Miraculously the middle-class parents with the money end up getting their children into good schools.
“In Lambeth, where I live, I would give my right arm to send them to a fee-paying school. If necessary I would go out on the streets and beg rather than send them to the school next to where I live.
“What about the other parents in Lambeth who are forced to use the state schools because they don’t have the money? We need to give them the choice as well.”
This week saw the Tories promise a voucher scheme for education, which would enable parents to have the Government put the amount of money it spends on each state school pupil towards private sector fees.
Last year, only 6 per cent of GCSE pupils at Lilian Baylis got five or more passes at grade C and above while just 26 per cent of its 14-year-olds reached the Government’s required standard in English and 32 per cent in maths.
Ofsted, the education watchdog, said in a 2001 report: “Lilian Baylis School has a troubled history. It has suffered from instability in its leadership, a high turnover of staff, uncertainty about is future and a poor, at one time deservedly so, reputation. There are some clear signs that the situation is improving, with well-focused and determined leadership from governors and senior managers.”
Mr Phillips said: “It is very upsetting for both children and parents to be told that their school is no good when they know full well that it is.
"We are fully aware that the school’s exam results are lower than the national average but as a result of the Government’s value added scheme which takes other factors - like whether children actually speak English when they arrive at the school - Lilian Baylis is registered as one of the top 100 schools in the country by the Department for Education and Skills.
"I would be much more willing to accept Mr Letwin’s comments if he had ever actually been to the school and I would like to extend an invitation to him to come and look at what we do here before he decides to discuss us again."