What will be said of me when I am dead and buried?

Libby Reid. Good girl.  She got 4As, 4Bs and 2Cs.

God, I hope my GCSE results are not all that I will be remembered for. But the way things are going in education these days, you’d think that exam results were all that matters.

In the TES last week, it was reported that many schools are losing pupils because they have been put on the National Challenge ‘hit list’. Not surprising really; and my bet is that the pupils they are losing will be those from families who both care enough about education to move and can afford to move house. Take for example acquaintances of mine who are about to re-mortgage their house to pay for private education rather than send their child to the secondary school they have been allocated.

I understand that ‘coasting schools’ will now be added to the list. (Coasting schools being those that should be getting better results considering the ability of the children at intake). Hmm, that makes me think that perhaps some highly selective grammar schools should come under scrutiny. Let’s face it, 98.8% of those kids would get 5 A-C’s if they were taught by a colony of monkeys.

Why is the Government putting such a focus on results and grades? Presumably because they are the one easily measurable means of telling how a school is doing? Yet there are so many things that are far more important than SATs and GCSE results, and these seem to go unmeasured. I wonder how many head teachers are brave enough to resist the pressure to concentrate solely on exam results and to consider what they and their pupils would like to be remembered for?

Whilst I appreciate that targets are important, I wonder what the Government is thinking when it threatens to close all schools that don't reach 30% of 5 A-C grades. Yes, I know there are offers of 'help' to inner city schools - some will even get as much as 10,000 pounds to pay for trips and to recruit local members of the community. Hmmm, that'll go a long way then.

I have worked in one such school and many of the teachers there were the most gifted and dedicated teachers I have ever worked with. They had to be good, otherwise their lessons would deteriorate into chaos. Yet, in our best year, A-C's reached only 27%. Why? Because there are four grammar schools locally, so it is effectively a secondary modern. I wonder, how does the Government intend to recruit good, hardworking teachers to work in the profession generally, and in 'failing' schools in particular, if their jobs will be under threat should the children not reach the magic figure of 30%? Why would anyone put themself through it, just to get a bashing by a government which is itself failing?

Another thing that seems to be forgotten is that academic exams don't suit all children - just getting them to scrape through to a C in five subjects isn't necessarily what is best for them. Has Mr Balls forgotten that Every Child Matters? It would seem so.

Mr Balls acknowledges that most of the schools that are targeted are in areas of deprivation. Instead of making schools and teachers the scapegoats for its own inadequacies, perhaps New Labour should be addressing this deprivation and the social problems in the areas surrounding the schools. Then the poor kids that attend these schools and the teachers who work there won't be further demoralised at being told, once again, that they are useless.

My suggestion? Yes, expect high standards of teaching and learning. Expect high standards of behaviour, but don't base everything on a magic figure of 30% that, it seems, is plucked out of the air. Look at creating a curriculum that suits all types of children - let more of them follow vocational courses and take part in apprenticeships. In the meantime, let's address social issues like poor housing, poor parenting and a culture in which it is cool to fail.

Oh, and let's get rid of any government that fails to improve.

I had the pleasure of going to see our school choir perform in a competition at our town hall yesterday. I know from other visits to the school how confident the children are and how well they perform in front of a small audience. However, this was something else. The audience must have been two hundred strong, the stage was huge and the judges were sitting on a raised area in the middle of the audience, with the cups and trophies positioned in front of them. It would have been a really nerve-wracking experience for an adult, yet these seven year olds performed with great confidence and obvious enjoyment.

Eight choirs performed, and it really was a privilege to see what they could do. And the benefits to the children were huge; aside from the obvious singing skills, there was the pride of achievement, the boost to their self-esteem (the clapping nearly brought the ceiling down on one or two occasions!), the self discipline of standing still and concentrating and the teamwork to name just a few.

I wonder how you measure this in terms of league tables?