BRETWOOD: John Fairhurst 'Why we need to rethink our National Curriculum'
THE PRESIDENT of the Association of School and College Leaders has claimed that teaching a range of practical skills at school is the way to address the "underachievement" across Brentwood.
John Fairhurst, who officially steps down as head of Shenfield High School in the summer, told the Gazette that we need a "rethink" on our national curriculum if teachers are to "engage" with children failing at school.
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And he is certain the English Baccalaureate – which was retrospectively introduced by the Government last month – will serve to marginalise pupils who are not academically minded.
"A long tail of underachievement in the English system isn't actually addressed by the English Bac," he said.
"And it won't be addressed by structures of schools, academies, free schools or local authority foundation schools.
"There's a rethink required, and it is the case that the curriculum has a role to play in that because part of the reason for that underachievement in that long tail is an overly academic national curriculum that doesn't take engagement, or lack of it, into account.
"With a carefully differentiated curriculum, targeted on different types of children, you can actually achieve the sort of thing I am talking about. We have done a lot of work on that at Shenfield.
"It has worked for us. The practical courses have better motivated the practically minded – now there's a surprise."
As President of ASCL, Mr Fairhurst lobbies Westminster for schools across the country.
Having been involved in the organisation since 2003, he has witnessed a change in the Government's approach to education since the election.
He said: "Labour is less dogmatically driven than the new Conservative-led government, although our argument with Labour was the sheer flow of statements and guidance – 180 pages of guidance on admission – it was frankly Stalinist.
"But I question the philosophical basis of the EBac because if it's right for decisions to be made locally and for government not to interfere, then what are they doing pulling such powerful levers as the league table scores – pursued by Ofsted from the centre – in order to change the curriculum? that isn't right."
The 57-year-old electrician's son was educated at a grammar school, but while he recognises the advantages he gleaned from selective education, he is sure the comprehensive sector has been a success, which is not generally recognised.
He said: "I have enjoyed a successful professional career as a consequence of the ladder that the grammar school gave me. "However, the grammar schools at that time only served about ten or 15 per cent of the population and what the comprehensives are trying to do is to provide that opportunity to a much wider audience.
"The examination scores – since the comprehensive became the norm – have gone through the roof, so much so that people don't believe the outcomes.
"A whole class of kids at Eton get A stars and it's 'isn't Eton wonderful?'. But a whole class in a school like mine get high grades and there is ''something wrong'. I don't like that attitude at all.
"And what happens to those five in every six children who don't go to grammar school? Under the system I grew up in that wasn't really adequately answered.
"I think that actually, to try and test people on a life-changing decision at ten-and-a-half, is cruelty in the extreme because they are children and they haven't grown up yet.
"The problems associated with the 11-plus border on the insurmountable and frankly discredit the whole grammar school argument."
5 Comments
by Raj, Shenfield
Friday, March 11 2011, 9:36PM
“It's no good Shenfield school's senior managers getting poxy old parents like C Farge from Shenfield's PTA to write into the Brentwood Gazette on your behalf.
The fact of the matter is that 2 yobs from Shenfield smashed bus windows. Your schools is just another nasty old comp full of violent juvenile thugs.
As for C Farge, people like me will keep telling people just how bad Shenfield has become and you can't stop us !”
by Yasar, Essex
Monday, March 07 2011, 6:39PM
“What right has John Fairhurst to spout his big mouth off when his pupils smashed windows of a bus ? He'd do well to keep his mouth firmly shut until such time as he regains control of his school - which will be never.
We all state schools like Shenfield are dustbins full of cowards like Fairhurst and guttersnipe kids.
Shut up Fairhurst and clear off you good-for-nothing non-entity.”
by Rahul, Essex
Saturday, March 05 2011, 5:33PM
“sack all weak appeasing heads like Fairhurst, bring in ex-coppers, armed forces officers, prison warders etc to lead schools - men with balls - bring discipline back to schools like Shenfield, where it has disappeared and kids do whatever they want; and re-introduce a traditional academic curriculum, chucking all the Blairite trash of the past 14 years or so in the dustbin. Simple, what's so difficult about that ? The problem today is not that it can't be done, but that Blairites like Fairhurst don't want it to happen, the current low standards shut them and their careers just fine, thank you very much.
Fairhurst and other state heads would so well look at the standards of discipline, so sorely missing in British schools, that prevail in the developing world. The British have become very soft and weak, especially towards young people.”
by Abimbola, Essex
Sunday, February 27 2011, 4:37PM
“The single biggest problem with state schools today is the current rabble of 'second hand car dealer-like' headteachers like Fairhurst at Shenfield.
In an age when, very understandably, no-one wants to teach and be a headteacher. Consequently, schools are left with the dregs who in the past would not have got a look in.
In the past headteachers were highly educated, often Oxbridge, not uncommonly with PhDs. Today, we have a raft of badly spoken heads who have very average qualifications from very ordinary universities or polys. few have much more than a bachelors.
Like Fairhurst, most are lefty dinosaurs left over from the sixties.
What is wrong with schools today is a complete lack of discipline, as witnessed by the recent outrageous attck by pupils from Shenfield High upon a bus.
Secondly, the national curriculum has been deliberately dumbed down by the last Labour government, LEAs and headteachers, like Fairhurst. The state curriculum is now largely pc, politicised, populist junk.
Heads like Fairhurst fear the EBacc because it would raise the current gutter level teaching in schools, however, most teachers are not academically gifted enough to cope with academic teaching, only the current pigswill.
Why the attack on selective, public schools by Fairhurst ? These are the only schools that provide a decent education. Fairhurst, having attended a grammar school, is a total hypocrite.
Clearly Fairhurst does not understand politics as it is Labour that are dogamtic about education. Its thanks to Blair andNew Labour that today's young generation are delinquent thugs who attack buses with old ladies on. It is the Labour party which has destroyed English state education, reducing it to the lowest common denominator. Yes, under Labour, all state schoolchildren are equal - they're all in the gutter !
What about Labour's disgraceful attack upon public schools and scraping of assisted places for very intelligent working class youngsters - pure, nasty marxist dogma !
We do not need a lecture from the likes of Fairhurst, especially after his pupils attacked a bus with elderly passengers.”
by Lance, Essex
Saturday, February 26 2011, 9:25AM
“BreTwood .???..yes I think Fairhurst is correct.”