The head of Newcastle Royal Grammar School (RGS) has told JesmondLocal he believes the government should buy places for “bright, poor children” at independent institutions like RGS.

Bernard Trafford, headteacher at RGS, said that though independent schools “can’t change the world”, they can help “change the lives of a significant number of children.” He stated that the opportunities private education offer can help aid children’s social mobility, and that a stronger sense of diversity can help these schools become “stronger” and “better” places.

Trafford argues that one of the main failings of the current education system is its lack of resources and what he describes as the government’s “utilitarian education” approach. He said the National Curriculum places too much importance on ensuring children pass exams in subjects “that [the] government values”, such as English, Mathematics and Science, and this is often done so “through manipulation of performance tables”. He further added that other teaching areas are suffering as state schools desperately try to attain the targets the government set for core subjects.

He says that independence from “government interference” allows independent schools the freedom to do what they deem best for the children. He also adds that smaller class sizes and a higher level of resources, such as the number of teachers, teaching materials and building,  aid a child’s education. He added that 25 years of government pressure and ‘control-freakery’ has seen the creation of countless new initiatives and ‘u-turns’, which have resulted in “losses that tend to outbalance the gains”.

6% of RGS’s pupil register are children from low-income homes, whose place at the school is funded by the institution’s own resources. However, through government funded-places, Trafford hopes this figure could rise to 25%.

RGS is one of five private schools in Jesmond that educate children from the north east. Last year the school topped the north east school tables for A-Level results, with 99% of all pupils attaining 3 A-Levels graded A*-C. Newcastle High School for Girls, another Jesmond-based independent school was ranked third based on GCSE results, with 83% attaining five GCSEs (including English and Mathematics) between A*-C. These figures strongly contrast against those achieved by Benfield High School – a state-funded secondary school just 2 miles away – wherein only (39%) managed to achieve the same, according to Department of Education figures.

Should Jesmond’s private schools be given public support for places? We’ll discuss this – and other issues of importance to Jesmond – with candidates for council at our hustings, held next Wednesday (April 29th) at Jesmond Library. The event starts at 7:45pm, and everyone is free to attend.