"My hon. Friend makes the point far more eloquently than I can. At some point in the future, the shadow Education Minister might have the honour of being the Minister again, or even the Secretary of State, who will sign off the applications for academy status. However, the amendment would …..." Lord Barwell - View Speech
"I thank the hon. Gentleman for his intervention, but my experience in my part of the world is very different. In Croydon we had one of the original city technology colleges, which has converted to an academy, as most CTCs have, and the academy partners have continued to work closely …..." Lord Barwell - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman is trying to make the case that the exclusion rates are higher in academies, and is comparing them with the whole of the maintained sector. Is it not true that research published by his Department when he was a Minister showed that exclusion rates in academies are …..." Lord Barwell - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman is making a good point about the importance of studying academic subjects in our schools. However, in the figures that he quotes, were academies compared with other equivalent schools, with similar catchment areas, or with the whole maintained sector?..." Lord Barwell - View Speech
"The hon. Lady is repeating the line that the shadow Secretary of State started with, which is that the Bill is a perversion of Labour’s academy policy. However, the then Prime Minister Tony Blair said on 24 October 2005:
"Is the hon. Lady aware that academies receive none of the council funding for SEN administration, assessment or co-ordination?..." Lord Barwell - View Speech
"The main issue before us in the Bill is whether we should have more independent state schools. I wish to consider the international evidence, the national evidence and a local example from my constituency.
Internationally, the charter schools in New York have narrowed the rich-poor achievement gap by 86% in …..." Lord Barwell - View Speech
"That is a helpful clarification and answers some of the points that have been made by Labour Members suggesting a bias in favour of outstanding schools.
The shadow Secretary of State tried to give the impression that the entire system of state education was being ripped up. If he really …..." Lord Barwell - View Speech
I should like to address a couple of questions to the Minister. First, the hon. Member for Stoke-on-Trent Central (Tristram Hunt), who has now left the Chamber, made some good points about the importance of academic qualifications, although they were rather at odds with …..." Lord Barwell - View Speech