THE HEAD of a Pendle high school stepped back more than 100 years to show that debates on falling educational standards are nothing new.

Will Montgomery, head of West Craven High School, Barnoldswick, quoted from an 1888 report from Kelbrook School which talked about troublesome pupils, a parent being abusive in school, vandalism and threats of expulsion.

His comments came during West Craven's annual prize presentation evening for pupils who left the school in the summer.

Mr Montgomery applauded the efforts of GCSE students and said the school's upward trend in exam results was continuing. The percentage of pupils gaining five or more A*-C grades went up three points to 30 per cent.

He said the percentage would have risen to 39 if just 12 pupils had improved one D grade to a C. "While publication of results in so-called league tables has concentrated our minds on standards of achievement, albeit with no account of value added being included, some other proposals to improve matters fill me with concern.

"I'm thinking here of apartheid and violence, that is selection and caning.

"The Prime Minister has spoken of having 'a grammar school in every town', which may be fine for those pupils selected for such schools.

"Whether those rejected and allocated places at de facto secondary moderns will be as keen on the concept I doubt."

He went on: "I came across one analogy between educational selection and the health service which noted that it was similar to a hospital rejecting very ill patients and favouring those who offer the satisfaction of an easy cure."

He added: "Perhaps Gillian Shephard believes unteachable children and feckless parents can have badness caned out of them and goodness caned in.

"My memory of the punishment book at the secondary modern at which I taught in the late seventies is that it contained the same names week after week, month after month."

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