On the day the charade that is league tables reaches the public, I can’t help but feel that there must be many schools in this country with committed and well-trained staff who feel most keenly a sense of unfairness.
No account is taken of the value-added quality which schools bring to their pupils. In my own school many benefit from the formal education programme and there are examples of excellent results given that are heavily skewed toward the less able. Further successes are achieved through the diverse extra curricular activities.
Many children achieve growth in self esteem through the extensive expeditions; our school band is well known for its excellence and its community involvement. Our art department (which last year gained seven starred A grades) has its own gallery and outreach programme. All this achievement, in Madeley Court and in other schools, is obscured by today’s results.
Madeley Court School is at the bottom of today’s league tables in Shropshire, but discerning parents still choose to send their children here, because they know that they will achieve much.
IAN WARBURTON
Teacher
Madeley Court School
Telford, Shropshire
