School choice
Tuesday, 26 Feb 2008 09:03
The quality of state schools is up for debate today as the Conservatives highlight limited choice for parents.
Information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act by the Tories reveals one in five parents fail to get their children into their preferred school.
The problem is especially bad in inner city areas like the London borough of Southwark, where only 51 per cent obtained their first preference school.
In the 80 per cent of local authorities from whom the Conservatives received data, one in 14 parents did not get their child into any of their six preferred choices.
The Tories believe this reflects a "lack of good school places" across the country and have attacked the government's commitment to fostering choice, firmly established under former prime minister Tony Blair.
The Department for Children, Schools and Families rejects the Tories' claim, pointing to rising standards in education in state schools in England.
By raising overall attainment, it argues, parents can be assured a good education whichever school their child attends.
The Conservatives have tended to ignore such arguments while in opposition, having previously proposed scrapping catchment areas and the creation of 60,000 new school places to improve school choice.
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