Press coverage on the 50 years of Scottish comprehensive schooling conference (26.10.2015)

BBC News, the Herald Scotland, BBC 1, BBC Radio Scotland and Kingdom FM all mentioned the conference "What have we learned from fifty years of Scottish comprehensive schooling?" co-organised by the Centre for Educational Sociology (CES) and CREID on the 27th October 2015.

The new title "Everyone's Future: Lessons from fifty years of Scottish comprehensive education" edited by Daniel Murphy, Linda Croxford, Cathy Howieson and David Raffe was launched at the conference.

The papers quoted extensively the remark of Dr Cathy Howieson, who noted that

Comprehensive schooling has become part of the social fabric of Scotland with the system enjoying widespread support among parents and some 95 per cent of pupils attend comprehensive schools.

However, she added that

Ideas of comprehensive education tend to have faded from policy debates in recent years in Scotland as elsewhere in the UK. The concept of comprehensive education should once more become a central theme of debates about the future of education.

These two news articles can be viewed via the following links:

Herald Scotland (26.10.2015) - Comprehensive schools led to "increased equality" in Scotland / Academics say shcools system has improved opportunity (by Andrew Denholm), and School system not perfect but it works

BBC News (26.10.2015) - Comprehensive school system 'better and fairer'

The Herald Scotland also published an article of Daniel Murphy, one of the editors of the book and a speaker at the conference, on comprehensive education for Scotland on the 27th October 2015. His article can be viewed via the following link:

The Herald Scotland (27.10.2015) - Agenda: How to ensure comprehensive education continues to deliver for Scotland / Ensuring comprehensive schools continue to deliver for Scotland (by Daniel Murphy)

Relevant issues mentioned at the conference and in the book were discussed further in an article in the Times Educational Supplement Scotland.

TESS (6.11.2015) - A balancing act between freedom and equality

Link to the related event

Conference: What have we learned from fifty years of Scottish comprehensive schooling?