Secondary School Admissions in London

The current system for secondary school admissions is said to be failing in London. This follows significant media attention on the fate of parents, their children and the schools throughout the process of pupils transferring between primary and secondary schools.

However, this raises two important questions. The first is whether the current system for secondary school admissions can be deemed as 'failing'. The second asks if there is a problem with admissions to what extent is it a London phenomenon.

This paper draws on more than eight years of research into secondary school admissions across England and Wales. While focusing primarily upon secondary school admissions in London it relates these findings to those in other areas of England and Wales where applicable. The evidence presented in this paper clearly shows there are limitations for the current system of secondary school admissions and that some of these are exacerbated by the geography of school provision and complex admission arrangements in London. However the paper also notes the often unreported benefits of this system and the potential limitations of alternative admission procedures.

The paper begins by introducing the London quasi-market for secondary schools. This provides an overview of secondary school education in London. This provides the context in which the new education market functions and has developed. It then goes on to outline changes in secondary school admissions in England and Wales. In doing so it introduces the key legislative reforms that have shaped the current system of open enrolment or 'parental choice'. This shows that recent changes to the admissions system have arisen from a number of perceived 'failings' of school choice. The paper develops these concerns by outlining four elements in which the current admissions policy can be judged. Each of these elements is then discussed in turn to determine the extent to which the current policy of open enrolment can be deemed as 'failing'.

By contrasting the impacts in London with other areas of England and Wales the paper then begins to argue whether these 'failings' are typical to all areas or are unique to London. These arguments are then pursued in the final part of this paper by examining particular problems with the current policy for admissions in London. This discussion highlights a number of unique, yet inherent, characteristics of the education quasi-market in London that can cause or, more likely, exacerbate the main limitations of school choice policies. The paper concludes by outlining the likely outcomes and success of potential adjustments to secondary school admissions in London.

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