Schools Do Furnish A Nation – Spectator Blogs

Also elsewhere today, I’ve a piece for the Scotsman arguing that Andrew Adonis was the third-most important person in the Blair-Brown governments and that, by god, Scotland could do with some of his reforming zeal too. Most sensible people in England agree academies have been a success (though there’s still a long way to go); unfortunately most people in Scotland seem to think there’s precious little need for reform. This complacency is unwarranted.

Adonis has written a memoir – Education, Education, Education: Reforming England’s Schools – that should be read by every MP and MSP. It’s probably the most important political book of the year. I know suggesting Scotland might have anything to learn from how they organise matters in England offends “civic Scotland’s” unearned sense of superiority, but, nevertheless, the fact remains that English educational reform offers a way forward for Scotland too.

It is worth recalling how the English political and educational landscapes have been transformed.