More than half of secondary schools are part of specialist network

Citation

(2004), "More than half of secondary schools are part of specialist network", Education + Training, Vol. 46 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/et.2004.00446dab.006

More than half of secondary schools are part of specialist network

More than half of secondary schools are part of specialist network

More than half of all secondary schools have now gained specialist status and over 1.5 million pupils are taught in specialist schools. The latest specialist schools include the first music and humanities colleges, which will open their doors in September, as well as a “rural academy” of nine Cumbrian schools with specialist technology status.

Specialist schools are a key element of the Government’s drive to personalize education around the needs, aptitudes and aspirations of individual pupils. The schools outperform other maintained secondary schools at GCSE level. Performance figures show how specialist schools continue to outstrip non-specialist schools at GCSE/GNVQ, with 56.7 per cent of pupils in specialists achieving five good grades compared to 49.2 per cent in non-specialists. Recent research by Professor David Jesson, using value-added measures, showed that non-selective specialist schools outperformed non-specialist schools at GCSE level by 4.2 points in 2003.

School Standards Minister David Miliband said: “Specialist schools have a record of above-average achievement so I am delighted that over half of our secondary schools have now gained specialist status. The specialist-schools programme has become a mass movement for raising standards and more and more schools will join their ranks.” Welcoming the new music specialism, cellist Julian Lloyd Webber said: “Having schools that specialize in different skills is a brilliant idea. In order for Britain’s young musicians to attain the highest level we need to nurture their talent at a very early age and music colleges will help to do this.”