SIR – Tudor Grange Academy’s decision to use entrance tests (Worcester News, January 29) was probably inevitable.
I was head of mathematics during the early years of its predecessor Elgar High School. Elgar always struggled to produce good academic results because it was never a truly comprehensive school.
The proportion of its high ability students was lower than all other local high schools and it had very large numbers with challenging behaviour and low academic potential.
If Tudor Grange’s entrance tests ensure a balanced intake of all abilities, it will become a genuine comprehensive where all pupils have a better opportunity to succeed. It is likely that all the other city high schools will also become academies, independent from the county council.
They will also wish to have fairly balanced populations of students.
Tudor Grange’s decision should be welcomed – its pupils will finally get a fairer chance to succeed.
However, the blame for the ‘failure’ of Elgar High School rests with the county council; if it had ensured that all city high schools had similar proportions of pupils of all abilities and backgrounds when it reorganised the schools in 1983, then all pupils in all schools would have had a fair chance.
PAUL DENHAM
Councillor for Rainbow Hill Worcester
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