When Will Education Plans Bear Fruit?

The Herald › November 03, 2004

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Summary

THE Herald agrees with Peter Peacock's ambition that "all Scottish schools should be excellent places of learning" (November 2). This is very laudable but could prove to be impossible, as it has never been achieved in any country, regardless of its political system. America has state schools that are regarded as vastly superior to others, as did Soviet Russia. Even Sweden, usually much admired by the political left, has introduced a voucher system similar to that proposed by the Tories in England.

One of Mr Peacock's stated aims is to improve our educational standing compared to other countries and some of his proposals, if followed through, may well achieve this. But it should be realised that one casualty of those proposals will be educational equality, as the biggest improvements will undoubtedly take place at those schools that are already achieving the best results. Fast-tracking, allowing pupils more time to study for Highers, will obviously prove to be popular in magnet schools such as those in East Renfrewshire, but little will change in our inner-city sink schools, where pupils with three-plus Higher passes are an endangered species.