Re: Stream the schools not the children
"Anyone who remembers the 1970s comprehensive systems will remember how poor they were because so little was expected of those who went."
The idea was good. Merge the three types of post-1944 single sex secondary schools into big local campuses for boys and girls together. Then you can afford to employ specialist teachers for all subjects and stream the pupils by subject ability as they mature.
My Technical High School was merged like that. Some of our good teachers transferred to the new establishment. On paper it looked good. The former Secondary Modern pupils could now enjoy the very modern facilities of the High School campus - although extra buildings were added to accommodate the large increase in the roll.
The Sixth Forms from the High Schools were hived off to form a new "college" - giving those pupils a more adult environment.
According to teachers memories 40 years later it was not a success. The large number of pupils made it difficult to maintain an ethos. Academic standards dropped. Discipline also started to fail - possibly because there was no longer the "bridge" of Sixth Formers acting as prefects and role models.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
