"13. What recent progress he has made on ensuring young people leave school or college with a good understanding of English and mathematics...." Mel Stride - View Speech
"My hon. Friend will know that the recent CBI survey showed that 42% of employers were having to provide remedial training in numeracy and literacy to college and school leavers. Will my hon. Friend set out the steps the Government are taking to make sure that these colossal costs to …..." Mel Stride - View Speech
"My hon. Friend makes a powerful point. Does she agree that one of the benefits of a loans system is that those going to university are far more discerning in their choice, which makes universities work much harder to secure those students and, therefore, drives up standards?..." Mel Stride - View Speech
"I very much welcome my right hon. Friend’s statement, particularly his commitment to fairer funding for schools. As he will be aware, Devon languished close to the bottom of the funding league table under the previous Government. Will he assure me that he will look very carefully at the possibility …..." Mel Stride - View Speech
"T4. The Sutton Trust has recently stated that under the previous Government, between 2007 and 2009, a group of 2,000 secondary schools and sixth-form colleges sent fewer pupils to Oxford and Cambridge than just five of our leading independent schools. Will my right hon. Friend join me in deploring that …..." Mel Stride - View Speech
"The hon. Gentleman rightly points to the importance of evidence when comparing countries, so is he a little concerned that we were not listed in the 2003 PISA results because schools did not provide the requisite amount of information? Does he welcome the fact that this Government will make it …..." Mel Stride - View Speech
"Is it not the case that our apparent improvements in the TIMSS can to some degree be attributed to the fact that the cohort of countries that we are looking at in each year has changed and that a number of non-OECD African and Asian countries have entered in more …..." Mel Stride - View Speech
"It is a pleasure to speak under your chairmanship for the first time, Mr Rosindell. I am afraid that I have to inform my hon. Friend the Member for Stourbridge (Margot James) that I am another Oxford graduate and, to compound her concerns, that I went to the same college …..." Mel Stride - View Speech
"From one Oxbridge man to another, I accept that that certainly is the case with the 2003 figures, where the lack of information provided by UK and English schools meant we were not included in the league tables. Although there was a paucity of data in 2000, we were included, …..." Mel Stride - View Speech