Inner-city onslaught;Not so middle class, Mr Blair

22nd January 1999, 12:00am

Share

Inner-city onslaught;Not so middle class, Mr Blair

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/inner-city-onslaughtnot-so-middle-class-mr-blair
PARENTS abandon inner-city schools because standards at too many are too low, Prime Minister Tony Blair said this week, in comments seen as justifying his decision to send his children to schools several miles from home.

“When I look at some of the inner-city schools, it is no wonder parents feel they have to move their children out,” he told the Radio 4 Today programme. “It’s just not acceptable.

“We can’t tolerate people in the teaching profession who are not up to the job. We have got to make it easier to get rid of heads or teachers who simply can’t teach or run a school properly.”

Mr Blair’s sons attend the London Oratory, eight miles from their former home in Islington. Daughter Kathryn will join Sacred Hart high school in Hammersmith, eight miles from Downing Street, in September.

But Nigel de Gruchy, general secretary of the National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers, said: “The attack does nothing for the morale of inner-city teachers or parents.”

Want to keep reading for free?

Register with Tes and you can read two free articles every month plus you'll have access to our range of award-winning newsletters.

Keep reading for just £1 per month

You've reached your limit of free articles this month. Subscribe for £1 per month for three months and get:

  • Unlimited access to all Tes magazine content
  • Exclusive subscriber-only stories
  • Award-winning email newsletters
Recent
Most read
Most shared