Welsh Liberal Democrats reject Blair's school selection reforms

10.04.17am UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 15th Feb 2007

Welsh Liberal Democrat AM for Brecon and Radnorshire, Kirsty Williams, has expressed her concern over Tony Blair's enthusiasm for selection in the school system.

The local AM has welcomed her party's rejection of this approach, in favour of greater school co-operation.

Ms Williams said: "The Welsh Liberal Democrats want to see schools working together to improve chances for all children, not competing against each other over selection of pupils as Tony Blair wants in England.

To create the best learning environment we want to see new relationships being built throughout the education sector which will maximises students' potential. Wales is a small country where it's easy to pick up new and better ways of delivering services - let's use that to our advantage.

"We would promote a clustering approach in primary schools, centred on the appropriate local secondary school, so as to promote seamless transition for pupils, and would encourage loose federations between schools and colleges where time-tables are co-ordinated, IT networking is promoted and sporting and cultural facilities are shared. Jealously guarding one school's amenities at the expense of another does nothing for the advancement of society as a whole.

"Where there is interest we would support even closer federations, where schools jointly-manage budgets, staff, resources and facilities. Such federations might include partnership between local Welsh-medium and English-medium schools, or could be used to help address some of the resource issues facing rural areas such as our own.

"Allowing rich individuals to run schools according to their own agenda, as with some City Academies in England, or allowing every school the power to select pupils, must not be the way forward in Wales. Measures to give schools more power over selection and encourage elitism will not take place under a Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Government. That is a guarantee."