(posted 7490 days ago)Independent: Education
Teacher talk
16 October 2003Gary Phillips is the head of Lilian Baylis, the secondary school in Kennington, south London, which shot to fame last week when the Shadow Home Secretary Oliver Letwin said that he would rather beg than send his children there. Only 6 per cent of the 600 pupils at Lilian Baylis managed five GCSEs grade A-C last year.
What do you think of Mr Letwin's remarks?
They were rather unfortunate, considering that he hasn't even taken the opportunity to visit the school. If the Liberal Democrat spokesperson Phil Willis or Stephen Twigg, the education minister, had expressed their views, I would have respected them because they have visited the school. But Mr Letwin hasn't.
Would you take in Mr Letwin's children if they wanted to come to your school?
They would have to be on the waiting list, I'm afraid. We have a long waiting list of 250 students at the moment.
How does your school compare with Eton, the school that Oliver Letwin attended?
Ours is the best-located school in Britain. It is in the centre of London, close to some of the great art galleries. Our students have worked with the National Gallery and the London Philharmonia Orchestra. They recently performed at the Young Vic Theatre and will be working for the London Jazz Festival. We have close contacts with industry, too. Our students do work experience not with shops, but with companies such as IBM. Last year, a group won the Cambridge University Young Black and Asian Challenge Cup by the biggest margin ever. We have the latest in information technology. There are electronic whiteboards in all rooms, laptops for all staff and a number of modern ICT suites for students to use during the day and after lessons.
How do you rate state schools against independent schools?
Ninety-four per cent of the students in this country go to state schools. I believe that children should be going to school in and with the community they live in.
How do you explain the dismal performance of your school?
I don't think that our performance has been dismal at all. Statistics are a very poor measure. We've made enormous progress in our school. We have been ranked among the top 100 schools by the Government in terms of the "value-added". You cannot compare us with schools that only take elite students. We are very good.
Interview by Gunjan Veda