http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8127851.stm
The Transport Secretary, Lord Adonis, announced this morning that the Government was to take the East Coast rail franchise away from National Express.
This can only be a good thing as far as passengers are concerned. The East Coast mainline was previously a flagship line, run by GNER, who prided themselves on excellence in customer service and, from wi-fi internet to dining cars on most trains, maintained the highest standards that have characterised Britain's railways in past years.
National Express took over the running of the line less than two years ago. In that time they have managed to undo much of what GNER had achieved. Restaurant cars are now a rare sight. Most audaciously of all, in recent months they have introduced a surcharge for the privilege of ... wait for it ... sitting down! (The line runs from London to Leeds, Edinburgh and Aberdeen so a seat would be quite an attractive offer.)
Last night, Richard Bowker, the Chief Executive of National Express resigned in disgrace. Now they have been plunged into the red, it beggars belief that they wonder why passenger-numbers declined.
I sincerely hope that the Government will, in establishing this line as a temporarily state-run business, distance itself from National Express's mean bare-bones operation, which has held passenger comfort in contempt for too long. We want railways Britain can be proud of.
Writing on Tory blogosphere ConservativeHome, Nick Seaton, of the Campaign for Real Education, derides Ofsted's allotment of Special Measures to Stretford Grammar School as 'absurd'.
As a school where 96% of students achieve the Government benchmark of five good GCSEs, it came as a surprise to many that the Greater Manchester institution has achieved the distinction of being the first selective school to be officially deemed a failure.
In implying that the action is a partisan coup by Labour politicians waging a pervasive campaign of political correctness (the school fails to meet statutory requirements in areas such as Sex Education, community cohesion and citizenship) simultaneously with an aggressive war on the handful of remaining grammar schools, Seaton has clearly and fundamentally missed the point of Ofsted's findings.
The school, according to the report, has presided over a wholesale tide of underachievement. All too often schools such as Stretford rest on their laurels, maintaining relatively impressive exam results purely through the intrinsic attainment calibre of a select intake.
This is a blatant picture of a school where the leadership has taken its eye off the ball in the most destructive way. The Headmaster and his deputy spent months away from their posts on extended sick leave, ultimately resigning when the HMIs came to call. Does that, Mr Seaton, sound like a school that is upholding standards to you?
Seaton points to nearby comprehensives where 'only 14% or 15%' achieve good GCSEs, and suggests these are the schools that Inspectors should be condemning, but Value Added exam performance (which takes account of pupils' performance before they come into the school) is appalling at Stretford and very likely better at these comprehensives which do not have the benefit of academic selection. Indeed in my view, and in that of numerous respected educationalists, schools such as Stretford have a lot to answer for in creaming off a huge swathe of potential high-achievers from local schools - and this no doubt plays a significant role in low rates of attainments at the aforementioned local comps.
Any school - whatever the nature of its intake - that is guilty of coasting should be named and shamed. It is encouraging that the Children's Secretary Ed Balls has publicly stated that he agrees with this view.
I personally would go further and argue that we should finally do away with the anachronism that grammar schools clearly constitute, and release local schools from the stranglehold of non-subscription from a cross-section of the local community - thereby introducing a fair, single-tier education system under which all children could thrive.
Ken Livingstone captures these sentiments in an interview with the right-wing blogger Iain Dale, published last week in the 'Total Politics' magazine. 'I'm not in favour of any parental choice in education. You will go to your local school.' He also hits the nail on the head in pinpointing the deciding factor in what makes a good school, or a bad one for that matter. 'A school can screw you up if it's got a bad head who has lost interest and loses control.' All schools need effective leadership. Headmasters and Headmistresses need to have a strategic vision for their schools, as well as for the personal development of every pupil under their charge. Pupils perform well in a high-achieving ethos, where standards are consistently high, those with learning difficulties are well supported and every pupil is expected to achieve his or her personal best.
That's what I got at my school. The fact that it was relatively small meant I formed strong relationships with my tutors who always pressed me to be on task. The government needs to descend on schools that expand and enlarge class sizes or increase the number of forms purely
to raise funds (school budgets are understandably pinned to the number of pupils in attendance) like a ton of bricks - for this is undoubtedly at the expense of quality of education.
Whilst the majority of state schools do admirable work in educating and inspiring their charges, there remain pockets of poor standards and lacking vision. In a field as sacred as the leadership of our children's education there is no room for carrying passengers. We do not owe ineffective school leaders a living. These scourges on achievement must be rooted out and schools would benefit greatly from an influx of enthusiastic, determined and skilfull educators into the sometimes jaded world of maintained-sector education.
On a separate, but related note, the results of a survey that examined the views of 1000 young people on higher education reveal today that financial cost is an overwhelmingly dominant factor in university choices.
It thus beggars belief that the leaders of our universities are seeking the removal of the cap on top-up tuition fees, currently standing at £3,000 per year. One Vice-Provost at a renowned London university has even audaciously talked up the potential for achieving a 'true market in university education.'
It is truly painful that the government has to date only made ambivalent noises in response. Such a move would render our top-flight institutions, oversubscribed to such an extend that they can afford to raise fees exorbitantly, no-go areas for students from underprivileged backgrounds.
When we hear every day of the crippling debts that students endure even under the current regime, it would be socially irresponsible for such a fundamental decision-making process faced by millions of young people, the majority of whom remain dependent on family income, every year, to become a shopping expedition.
The recent series of isolated attacks in Ireland have been shocking to say the least. It is almost beyond belief how far we have come since these types of attacks were typical occurances in the six counties - and indeed even here in the UK, particularly London.
The deaths of the two soldiers and subsequently that of the police officer by a second fringe-minority dissident group can only be described as tragic.
However, the true sign of the times is illustrated in Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness and the DUP's Peter Robinson standing shoulder to shoulder, united in the strength of their condemnation of these atrocities. McGuinness even went as far as to brand these renegade
elements of the Republican movement as "traitors to true island of Ireland". Let this put to bed any ambivalence that has been mooted with regard to Sinn Fein's commitment to the peace process.
These events have brought the operations of the devolved administration to the fore, and whilst our thoughts are with the victims' families it is also a good time to consider devolution's
domestic impact. One area where there is less of a bi-partisan consensus is the issue of academic selection.
I have been stunned by just how progressive Sinn Fein's Education Minister Catriona Ruane has been in her mission to drive out the decadent 11 Plus exam once and for all.
Aside from every argument that I would advance in line with my principled stance against selective education in general, people in the six counties are divided enough without this extending to children's education too.
There is much evidence to suggest that Catholic children in particular are being held back by the two-tier system. Although the DUP continue to steadfastly oppose Ms Ruane's admirable crusade, I hope that a consensus can in time be achieved that will see an equal and inspiring education for all children in the North of Ireland.
I was heartened to hear of the Employment Appeal Tribunal's decision to throw out the audacious compensation claims brought by Islington Registrar Lillian Ladele, who refused to carry out same-sex civil partnership ceremonies on religious grounds.
It was utterly breathtaking to hear the archaic and narrow-minded views that Ms Ladele has been spouting since her case was first heard at an Employment tribunal last May.
If a public servant refused to work with members of the opposite sex, or people from a particular ethnic background, immediately the unanimous response from society would be that they had no case whatsoever to argue. Unfortunately, when it comes to sexual orientation, many people continue to regard such obvious discrimination as socially acceptable.
Of course I wish that someone would drag Ms Ladele kicking and screaming into the 21st century. That said, if she wants to hold these kind of beliefs, that is up to her and nobody else is going to change her mind - but she, and anyone else of a similar opinion, should keep this attitude to herself and not let it impinge upon the lives and personal choices of other people in society.
Certainly, someone who is evidently so highly prejudiced should have no place performing a public service.
