We are writing to express our concern at the Secretary of State for Schools, Ed Balls' recent announcement regarding standards in schools.

Eight Buckinghamshire schools are listed in his National Challenge. They are now working with County teams to meet the Government's 50-day deadline to produce action plans, outlining how they aim to achieve the target of least 30% of pupils achieving five A* - C GCSEs, including English and Maths, by 2011.

Aside from the needless anxiety this has caused school communities, including parents and pupils, the reality is that work to improve outcomes for our young people is already in place led by our excellent school leaders and supported by the local authority. It is unfortunate that headline-grabbing measures such as this National Challenge can distract us from the work we know needs to be done and are getting on with. All the schools named in the National Challenge already have improvement strategies in place tailored to the individual requirements of the school and its pupil population.

Education is about individuals; it is about children and young people and their individual needs and there is no such thing as a 'one size fits all' education. Upper schools in Buckinghamshire meet the needs of a wide variety of pupils and do so in a holistic and inclusive fashion. This is already the highest achieving shire authority in the country and school leaders in Buckinghamshire and the local authority are entirely aligned in their ambition to secure the educational potential of every child. To this end we are committed to working together in order to support the progress of all schools and all children. Through the Buckinghamshire Association of Secondary Heads and the Buckinghamshire Academy for School Leaders, we already work together effectively, sharing expertise between schools to support this ambition.


Peter Holding
Headteacher Sir William Borlase's Grammar School
and Chair of the Buckinghamshire Association of Secondary Heads (BASH)


George Lloyd
Headteacher The Wycombe Grange Pupil Referral Unit and The Chess Valley Grange and Chair of the Buckinghamshire Academy for School Leaders (BASL)


Marion Clayton
Cabinet Member – Achievement & Learning


Louise Goll
Divisional Director Achievement & Learning
Buckinghamshire County Council

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