If you scrap fee paying schools completely, turn Eton etc into hotels then that will surely concentrate the minds of the people with the levers of power to make sure state education is the very best for every kid and we actually end up with a meritocracy.
The likes of Rees Mogg would not want his children going to schools that like mine were riddled with asbestos, had cold mobile classrooms, too few books to go around and my school was one of the better ones in the area. The likes of Rees Mogg would insist education was funded properly with high quality well paid teaching staff in buildings that were fit for purpose.
Every child deserves to be given the chance to fulfill their potential, every child deserves to also follow their dreams and learn what they find interesting and rewarding to them.
At the moment we have education secretaries who decide policy and we end up with the likes of Gove thinking rote learning for all is the way to go, what a fucking idiot he is, but his school background has made him believe that is the way forward and all he wants it to do is produce units of production drones not kids who have been encouraged to think critically about the world and its problems, not kids who can enjoy the arts, not kids who can challenge political orthodoxy because they can actually think differently.
Starmer to his credit has introduced the concept of Oracy, which I believe is a fabulous concept. Kids should be given the tools to express themselves verbally and be encouraged to engage in debate. That can not happen if you are under a regime of rote learning where every kid can name all the Kings and Queens going back to the Norman invasion. There should also be provision for kids who not academically gifted, we all have different gifts and everyone should be catered for if a schooling system is to produce well rounded young adults. That means giving the kids who want it a chance to learn technical skills alongside decent literacy and maths, a basic knowledge of history and in my opinion introducing kids to reading for enjoyment rather than for qualifications.
Sport is also important and there is no bigger crime than the selling off of state school sports fields. Kids should do PE and be given the chance to play football, cricket,athletics,rugby etc.
Most of all though, school should be fun, kids should want to go to school and enjoy being there in a safe and welcoming environment. An environment that can produce tomorrows brilliant people of course but an environment that should also give the less able amongst us a sense of achievement
A well educated and happy workforce is vital for economic productivity by undervaluing kids education we will not achieve that and we will remain in the morass of this governments making, where they value an Etonian more than an East Manchester high school kid and that has to stop.
