Boris Johnson sets out plans to drive up education standards in the capital

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today revealed plans to improve standards in education, including creating new sites for more free schools to be set up in London; the starting up of a new fund to boost excellence in teaching, and the formation of a new “London Curriculum” aimed at inspiring young Londoners to expand deeper learning in their fields of study.

The Mayor’s plans include creating a unit called New Schools for London to discover new places for free schools groups. In addition, Johnson will create a fund to promote better teaching and help deal with underperforming students in certain subjects. 

Finally, Johnson will set up a “Gold Club”, a new scheme that will find and commemorate schools that are doing well and achieving great results with their pupils, especially if the pupils come from poor and difficult backgrounds. The Mayor hopes that other schools will be able to emulate the schools that are doing well.

The Mayor said: “Every single London child deserves a good education. Though many schools and teachers are doing a sterling job, it is a tragedy that so many of our youngsters are leaving school without the skills they need to get on in life. With 90,000 more high-quality school places needed by 2016 and employers and universities demanding high-calibre people with the relevant abilities and qualifications to compete at a global level, we need cutting edge ideas to make London a world leader in education by 2020.” 

He continued by stating that he wants our youngsters to aspire to the highest echelons and be inspired to be the best they can be. “That’s why I will use the resources available to us to enable more free schools to be built across the capital. We should also maximise the potential of London’s cultural and historical assets to strengthen the curriculum in our schools.”

Alexander Clackson