By Fiona Miller
The received wisdom in parts ofthe media is as follows:
- State schools are getting worse.
- The £37 billion spent on them (a 74% increase in real terms) since 1997 has been wasted.
- There was once a ‘golden age’ when grammar schools reigned supreme, giving poor children ladders out of poverty and into the best universities, and all our people were educated to a higher standard than they are today.
In 1959, at the height ofthe ‘golden age’:
- 9% of 16-year-olds got five O-levels.
- More than a third of grammar school pupils only got three O-levels.
- Fewer than 10% of the population went to university and most came from professional or managerial homes.
- Most children were failed by the 11-plus test and sent to secondary modern schools which often didn’t have sixth forms.
Fast forward to today:
- In 2010, 69% of 16-year-olds got five good GCSEs, up from 45% in 1997.
- In the most recent report from Ofsted 68% of schools were judged good or outstanding. 8% were ...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites