Ministers want all secondary schools to specialise

The Education Secretary, Charles Clarke, is tackling the criticism that specialist schools are a divisive, elite strand in England's education system - benefiting from extra resources.

In a speech on Wednesday to the Specialist Schools Trust he argues that specialist secondary schools are a "mass movement to raise standards".

Last month the Commons education select committee said ministers had not produced evidence to show that specialist schools were better than ordinary or "bog standard" comprehensives, as the prime minister's official spokesman described them.

It urged ministers to withhold extra cash from them if standards were not rising in their "partner" comprehensives.

Mr Clarke stresses that specialists must collaborate with their neighbours and share expertise and resources.

Bidding process

Schools bidding for specialists status have to raise �50,000 in sponsorship and put together a four-year development plan for raising standards in all subjects.

If successful, they receive a grant of �100,000 plus an extra �123 per pupil per year.

They can select up to 10% of their pupils by "aptitude" for their specialist subject.

Department for Education figures show that only about 6% do so - but critics say this and the funding difference create divisions between state schools.

Applications for specialists status have risen by 35% over the last year and the programme is now "inclusive and all-embracing", Mr Clarke says.

'Driver'

"I believe specialist status is a real driver for improving standards and raising expectations.

"I am not going to lower the bar for being a specialist school but I believe that every school should aspire to become one."

Last year's GCSE results "speak for themselves", with 54.1% of pupils from specialist schools getting at least five A* to C grades, compared with 46.7% of those in ordinary comprehensives.

But he says more needs doing.

"Specialist schools are making a difference, as are the best non-specialist schools, but we must not be complacent, more can be done."

A new, computerised tool to help with this is the Pupil Achievement Tracker, which will mean teachers will have information at their fingertips to analyse children's attainment.

The education department says this will allow them to tailor their lessons to individual needs.

"None of this would be possible without the information we get from tests at each key stage - another reason why the tests are here to stay," Mr Clarke says.

Mr Clarke is also saying that Sheffield intends to be the first local education authority to have wholly specialist secondary schools by 2006.

Nationwide there will be around 1,400 specialists by this September. The government wants all England's 3,100 or so state secondary schools to specialise eventually.

There are no specialist schools elsewhere in the UK.