SCHOOL LEAGUE TABLES

28 April 2008

Christine Blower, Acting General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Europe’s largest teaching union said:

“The Boarding Schools Association’s call for the abolition of school league tables highlights just how isolated the Government is in its determination to keep them.

“They are immensely unfair particularly on schools in the toughest areas. No parent can gain accurate information from league tables. It is common for schools to find themselves at the bottom of league tables yet still get good inspection reports. No other country in the UK and indeed in many countries in Europe have such tables.

“I urge the Government to commission an independent review of its whole machinery for making schools accountable. We have an absurd situation where inspection judgements and school league rankings often contradict themselves. There is clear evidence that they are narrowing the curriculum and undermining children’s learning. We need a new direction which restores fairness in judgements on schools”.