TWO-TIER SCHOOLING

Polly Vernon has it absolutely right about the inequalities in education (Education, education, education…, 7 Sept) that have been highlighted by the Covid crisis. If children are not given equal opportunities, because successive governments have not prioritised that, how can we ever have a government that represents the people, and not just white, middle-aged, predominately privately educated men? Education is a right, not a privilege – it’s about time we started treating it like that. Nicks

As a teacher at a sixth-form college, I wanted to say a huge thank you to Polly Vernon for raising awareness of educational inequalities. Initially, 96% of my A-level students were downgraded by the algorithm. During lockdown, we were unable to offer live lessons as not all of our students have access to laptops at home, and if

they do, they are often shared. Despite the teaching time lost, examined content has not been cut for next year. Class size has increased to the maximum that can fit into classrooms due to year-on-year funding cuts. And so, due to social distancing, we are looking at only being able to see our students face to face for a third of the time for the foreseeable future. None of this will be an issue in the private sector. Emma

HOPE AND HUGS

Thanks Grazia for issue 785, full of hope and inspiration in these desperate times. A big hug from Rome. @amoretossico

NEVER MISS GRAZIA!

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