School's Out For Cameron

Peter Hitchens writes:

The worst scandal in this country is the way politicians arrange specially good schooling for their own children and force bad education on everyone else.

However many times it is exposed, it goes on unaltered because the political class have neither the wit nor the courage to restore selective schooling.

I won't list here all the ways in which Labour politicians fiddle their young into the best State schools, or pay fees, or discover a deep religious faith, or hire private tutors.

There are so many.

But let's just recall the case of Anthony Blair, who, while trilling "what I want for my own children, I want for yours", wangled his brood into a unique selective school beyond the dreams of millions.

And he never even pretended to be ashamed.

Well, we are now on the brink of a similar scandal, only this time involving the Tory leader.

As part of his conversion of his party into a copy of New Labour, David Cameron has announced that he hopes his children will be educated in State schools.

What he means is that he hopes, Blair-like, to get them into exceptional State schools, far better than the rest, then bask in the socialist virtue of his action.
And just now he is waiting to discover if he has succeeded. I won't name the poor innocent child.

But Mr Cameron has publicly said that he wants her to go to St Mary Abbots, a first-rate Anglican primary in the heart of Kensington in London.

Applications have just closed. Last year, 95 children pursued the 30 available places at St Mary Abbots.

I expect it will be just as tough this year.

The admissions rules are very strict, with priority given to those with "special needs", then to brothers and sisters of existing pupils, and then to those who are committed churchgoers at various levels – rules which might just favour the increasingly devout Camerons.

I really hope the school has enough sense to tell Mr Cameron to stop being silly and go away.

He is asking for many kinds of trouble.

He can easily afford private schooling. Why then deprive a poor home of a place at a rare good school?

If his child wins a place, there will certainly be disappointed parents, not so wealthy as the Camerons, who will be convinced that the selection has been rigged in some way.

Picture the headlines.

Mr Cameron's propaganda team will then try to attack the media for invading Mr Cameron's privacy.

No, he has invaded his own, by putting propaganda first, his own child second and everyone else's children third.

He should follow the example of his colleague George Osborne and pay fees.

And if he truly wants to help the State school system, he should drop his selfish, dogmatic opposition to the creation of more grammar schools.

But see also here.