A Tangled Web

ENTER THE DODO



With the 11+ about to be given the axe here, it is interesting to note that the majority of parents want to see academic selection maintained, according to this BBC poll. Just for the record, I am in favour of the maintenance of the 11+, and believe that it may need to be enhanced and improved, but to axe it is the mark of the education philistines out to impose their "all must have prizes" mindset upon our children.



Perhaps the greatest threat to our children's future education does not lie with meddling politicians but with those within academia who, like the Dodo in Alice in Wonderland , wish to ensure that everyone is a winner. They will butcher our successful Grammar school system with glee, and then sit in smug satisfaction as standards plummet.



Selection is intrinsic to humanity. It is a fact that some kids will show greater academic aptitude than others. They require an appropriate academic route to follow, just as others will require a more practical and vocational skills based route. But the educationalist heretics that run our Academia along with their brothers-in-shams in the Unions, have their social engineering agenda to follow.



I believe in academic excellence, and I believe in each child getting the very best and most appropriate education possible. Grammar schools are central to this - and that is why, in 2004, a decision will be announced that marks their death-knell.