"I thank the Minister for his answer. Will he clarify whether schools and colleges are required to get young people a GCSE in English or maths at level C or above or whether that is an aspiration? What sanctions will be imposed on those that fail to achieve it?..." Andrew Turner - View Speech
"What are the Government doing to ensure that a putative future Labour Government will not falsely inflate the grades of schoolchildren, as Labour has done before?..." Andrew Turner - View Speech
"Does the Minister agree that there are two kinds of help with nursery schools? There are those who advocate socialism—that is, they want there to be expensive nursery places, but very few of them—and there are those who make decisions for themselves. They can stand on their own feet and …..." Andrew Turner - View Speech
"Will my hon. Friend tell me how academies that were good schools are coping with the opportunity for more freedom and independence? At the same time, there are frankly awful academies that were forced into becoming academies after being run by the local authority...." Andrew Turner - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman is concerned about the size of primary schools. I draw his attention to a school in Cheshire that had 12 pupils at the time when it became a grant-maintained school. When grant-maintained schools were abolished, it had about 36 pupils. Size did not prevent schools from becoming …..." Andrew Turner - View Speech
"One problem is what we mean by a blip. How long were the blips? Were they one year, two years or five years? Five years is a lifetime for a child...." Andrew Turner - View Speech
"Has my hon. Friend considered what would happen if we were to abolish league tables—[Interruption.] We can do that. What would happen if we then gave the power to head teachers?..." Andrew Turner - View Speech
"I want to mention the Osborne estate, since no amendment was tabled until the Bill was on Report. Osborne house was of course built by Prince Albert and lived in by Queen Victoria until 1901. Before I was elected in 2001, its long-standing use as a convalescent home had already …..." Andrew Turner - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman mentions the baccalaureate and international GCSEs. If those are acceptable, and it seems that they are, and they are the examinations for able pupils, which they are, what would happen to the other GCSEs that would be occupied by the less able?..." Andrew Turner - View Speech