I was lucky to go to a state Grammar School. As a result I got pushed and did the best to my ability at GCSE and A-level and went on to study medicine at University. After watching Andrew Neil chatting about social mobility it would be fair to say it has stalled.
This is probably due to the decline in Grammar Schools. Children who went to a Grammar were able to compete with children who were sent to a private school. As a result the top jobs in business and politics were opened up to people outside the upper classes.
Perhaps this is why politicians dislike grammar school? They know that there success meant the end of "jobs for the boys."
All I know is that I was very lucky to go to a Grammar School and I wouldn't be writing this blog if I hadn't gone
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Similar here. I went to a posh school but on an "assisted place" scheme (scholarship). I recently returned last year for a reunion, 21 years after leaving. Apparently they had double the number of kids back in the day, due to these assisted places. The kids there now are sons and daughters of the well off.
ReplyDeleteStill bloody hated the place when I was there though !
FM you are spot on. I went to a state grammar school in the days when there were lots of them, open to all of ability, regardless of background. They were abolished by a socialist government who perceived them as "elitist". They thus removed the opportunity for those of poorer backgrounds to get an education enabling them to compete with the public schoolboys. A kick in the teeth to the working class.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments, grammar school allowed me to find a way of working that set me in stead at University. Although the work is completely different and i've had to adapt my revision methods the work ethic installed into me has stood me well. An opportunity denied to a lot of talented youngsters
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