Minister gets flak for Gunnersbury decision

Ruth Kelly says local school cannot interview new pupils

Education Minister Ruth Kelly has come in for criticism following her decision to refuse to allow Gunnersbury School to interview prospective pupils. It is being claimed in a report in the Independent that the decision is inconsistent with her earlier decision to allow the London Oratory School to conduct interviews.

Due to excellent results in recent years Gunnersbury has become increasingly popular with local parents. The school achieved a 98% pass rate at A Level with 72% achieving top three grades. For GCSE there was a 62% pass rate at grade A* to C. This has resulted in heavy over-subscription and the school wished to initiate interviews to test the Catholicity of those applying for admission. London Oratory policy of interviewing has been ratified by the education secretary.

Bob Garnett, the Council Officer responsible for education at Hounslow, who had opposed Gunnersbury's application, was quoted as saying that the decision suggested that there was "one law for the middle classes and those who know Tony Blair and another law for the rest."

However the decision was defended by the government who claimed that the London Oratory School was a unique case. The school has traditionally taken children from a huge number of parishes across London making it difficult to determine the validity of each application.

A Department for Education and Skills' spokesman said: "The London Oratory school provided sufficient proof that its interviewing arrangements are clear, fair and objective, and, as their current admission arrangements stand, are an appropriate way of obtaining information on the degree of an applicant's religious commitment."

There have been allegedly cases in previous years in which applicants have forged priest's references to obtain admission for their child and several schools in the area are claiming that interviews are the only way to curtail such abuses and make the entrance system fairer. It is argued that the influx of immigrants from Catholic countries, particularly Eastern Europe is likely to put further pressure on the local Catholic School system in the next few years.

October 29, 2005