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Government urged to back "well-rounded" education

Posted on 29th January 2009

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The government should back measures to ensure that pupils gain a well-rounded education, a private school head has argued.

In a letter to the Independent, headmaster of Bradfield College Peter Roberts has suggested that specialising in specific subject areas will stop schools achieving "real success".

He was commenting on research recently produced by Buckingham University's Professor Alan Smithers and Dr Pamela Robinson, which suggested that there is no evidence that having specialist status boosts the achievement of schools.

Mr Roberts suggested that "not only" does specialising not improve results, but it also fails to "properly prepare pupils for the world outside the school gates".

"All pupils get on much better in life when educated in schools that provide a well-rounded education," he stated.

Founded 150 years ago, Bradfield College in Reading, Berkshire, is a co-educational boarding school catering for approximately 680 13 to 18-year-olds.