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Tuesday, 30 December 2014

Location, Location, Location

http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/dec/31/labour-class-war-private-schools
In today's Guardian, Alun Jones (I think his name is Alan, but what can you expect from the grauniad, not that I am any better), says the Labour party are declaring "class war"  by getting rid reducing the relief on business rates independent schools get for some reason. Business rates are a kinda-quasi-LVT.  His argument is a red herring on how state schools our insane system of taxing income and not land/location value (although he does not know it.)
In the same article, Alun lets call him Al, has some golden quotes:
“Eighty per cent of the educational apartheid that we see is actually due to geographical location,”
“What’s the most privileged – being able to afford a £750,000 house and live in a catchment that takes you to what is defined as an excellent state school, or parents who want to make huge sacrifices and choose to opt for the independent sector?” The notion that private schools are elite is outdated, he argued.

Why are the houses expensive? Do they have better improvements? Bigger house? Or is it because, hmmm, I don't know, the LAND is worth more. SO the "educational apartheid"(whatever that means) is actually because the houses that benefit from the better location, schools, etc are worth more.

Also, this (another red herring but what do you think of it):
Jones also joined many fellow heads in lamenting the impact social media can have on the well-being of pupils. Schools needed to work closely in partnership with parents, who should take phones and other electronic media away from youngsters before bedtime to ensure “quality down time”, he said. Parents should also be sure to know the passwords of their children’s Facebook and other accounts and ensure the youngsters knew they could potentially access them.