I AM interested in Education Secretary Estelle Morris’s idea of beacon schools taking over failing schools. Beacon schools often cream off the best pupils from nearby failing schools and then exclude disaffected pupils. There is improvement in their standards at the expense of others. It is a little naive to suggest that results can be improved by applying the same principles to those pupils who were left behind by beacon schools in their rush up the league tables.
Peter Cafferky Head of science Hookergate school, Gateshead
