Mass Academies programme a waste of public money

Ahead of the Spending Review planned for 26 June, former Labour Minister John Healey highlights the trail of destruction waged on the state education system by the ConDems and questions the waste of £100's of millions of public money. ‘After three years, the evidence on cost simply doesn’t support the government’s flagship policy of mass academies. The independent Academies Commission, in the most in-depth study of the academies and free schools programme so far, found substantial progress among many Labour-era 'sponsor academies', but no marked evidence of improvement in more recent waves’
http://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2013/06/its-time-hold-ministers-account-their-waste-public-money-starting-gove

Elitism returns to Education

In today’s Guardian Polly Toynbee wrestles with the concept that the chasm in the Tory Party is led by the on-going deception amongst the ranks that Cameron is somehow a soft Tory but the irony of his actions proves his right-wing credentials go beyond those of Thatcher. These credentials have been given an almighty boost by Gove’s sanctioned actions to return to an elitist examination system that will allow universities to cherry-pick perceived high performers at the expense of those children that learn better and differently through course based work.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/sep/17/gcse-ebacc-michael-gove?newsfeed=true