10. Transforming a City’s Education

I. In the early 1990s no one had a good word to say for the education system in Britain’s second-largest city. Parents moaned about it and it was hard to attract good teachers. Education in the city was suffering from years of underfunding, as money had been poured into prestige projects such as the National Exhibition Center. But in little more than 10 years, the percentage of pupils achieving the standard expected, or higher, in English and maths at the age of 11 has nearly doubled. There is a similar astonishing increase—almost double—in the percentage of teenagers getting at least five GCSEs at grade C and above.

When you break the figures down, the results show even greater progress. Tests taken of nine-y year-olds in 1993 showed that only 25% of pupils were at or above the levels expected in reading. The most recent survey of pupils aged 11 shows that 75% of them are at or above these levels. Teachers and administrators want to work there. It attracts high-quality and ambitious people at the cutting edge of performance and practice. Most significantly, it seems to have pulled off the trick that successive governments have signally failed to do. It has persuaded its teachers that they are valued and capable. So what magic has been wrought in Birmingham to create such a turn around?

II. It began in 1993, when the local authority accepted it had to do something to stop the rot in education, and did two very brave things. It set up an independent commission o inquiry chaired by the outspoken progressive education academic Professor Ted Wragg of Exeter University, and it appointed Tim Brighouse to be the new chief education officer. Brighouse had been deputy director of the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA), at the time Britain’s largest education authority, with a reputation for left-wing idealism and progressive experimentation. It was abolished by Margaret Thatcher’s government. Birmingham in many ways is the ILEA’s successor in the psyche of educators.

Brighouse’s appointment coincided with Wragg’s public inquiry, in which Wragg and a panel consisting of a primary head, a secondary head and representatives of the local political parties took evidence in 30 public sessions from people who had something to say about the city’s education system. Teachers, governors and employers were called. So were local journalists, broadcasters and members of parliament. There were bitter complaints of lack of funding and the poor quality of advice available from the local education authority. Brighouse came and listened to the sessions so he knew what the problems were first-hand before he even took up the post.

III.The inquiry came up with 25 recommendations aimed at raising educational standards in the city. They included better funding, target-setting by teachers and collaborative working between teachers and the authority. The city council took heed, treeing to prioritize education and make modest, but real, improvement on funding year by year. Brighouse went visiting schools and held workshop—11 of them in his first year—in which all the city’s head teachers participated. The aim? School improvement. He wanted to examine the processes and practices that made the huge differences in schools with teachers and hare what worked with everyone. As Brighouse says: “I wanted to find good practice in Birmingham and open the window and say ‘My goodness, look at this! Are we not energy creators in this place?”

Target-setting was introduced, but the way it was done was the polar opposite of the way ii S been done by both the current Labour government and the Thatcher and John Major Conservative ones. Instead of imposing targets from outside, teachers were asked whether they could improve on their previous best. The usual reply was yes, then targets were agreed between the school and the authority. People were not encouraged to set themselves soft targets. Where people were under performing, Brighouse again took an approach that was the antithesis of government’s. Instead of naming and shaming, people were dealt with discreetly and with dignity and, if possible, reused in areas where they did have talents to offer.

IV.Guarantees were made by the authority to its teachers, pupils and parents. The primary school guarantee promised improvements in school budgets. It promised that the local authority would try to improve its services to schools and
to listen t expertise in school improvements. It promised to follow through on targets for literacy and numeracy. Also, every child was to have the opportunity to take part in a public performance and go on a residential field trip; every child was to have whatever he or she was good at in the expressive arts identified; every child would be part of a group producing a book or multimedia project that would tell a story for a younger age group; all would take part in a collective environmental inquiry.

Similar-style guarantees were established for pre-school children and those of secondary age. Everything was done in consultation with the teachers. But there was much more to come. The University of the First Age was introduced,
allowing 11-to-14-years-olds of all abilities the opportunity to extend their learning in special sessions after school or during holidays. Thousands of children attend he courses and the idea has been taken up nationally, now being
run by 22 local education authorities. The idea was then extended down the age range into the Children’s University, which provided the same opportunities for primary-age children. This has also been taken up nationally. In 1995, Wragg was invited back to the city to check up on how it was doing. He found most of the inquiry’s recommendations had been taken up.

Adapted from an article in the Guardian by Wendy Berliner

Questions 1—4
The reading passage has four sections.
Choose the most appropriate heading for each section from the list of headings in the box below. Write the appropriate numbers in boxes 1 —4 on your answer sheet.
Note: There are more headings than sections, so you will not use all of them.

Headings

i. teachers regain confidence
ii. two bold steps
iii. from underachiever to education leader
iv. catering to the needs of individual children
v. a challenge to the government’s policy
vi. prestige projects drain education funds

SECTION I:
SECTION II:
SECTION III:
SECTION IV:

Answer: I:iii, II:ii, III:v, IV:iv

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