9/09/2010

State Schools and Selection

Debate the factors behind the growing success of faith schools in the UK

The growing success of faith schools is down to a few simple factors regarding the pupils
that attend them. Nationwide, faith schools are 6% more successful in GCSE results. This is
because they tend to attract children of richer, or more intelligent, parents, who tend to
better them through education more.

Furthermore, those parents and pupils who are Christian, or any other religion, believe that
they need to work hard more than non-religious people. Because they are in a higher
concentration in faith schools, those schools tend to attain more. Also, the religious
emphasis and higher respect in faith schools will contribute to their success.

Examine the aims and success of the coalition government’s new education proposals.

Michael Gove, the new secretary of state for education, is ambitious in his new plans for
reforming education in the UK. His two aims are to allow LEA run schools to free themselves
and become academies, where they can alter the national curriculum and set their teachers’
pay. The second aim of his is to make it easier for Swedish style ‘free schools’ to open, which
are run by parents or religious groups. Obviously, the ultimate aim of doing this is to raise
standards in education across the country.

Unfortunately, not as many new academies are opening this September as Gove would have
liked, only 32. This is blamed on schools holding back from switching because of fears from
the teachers’ unions.