Private and state schools

You shouldn’t laugh. On the other hand…Antony Seldon, master of Wellington College and biographer of Tony Blair, has apparently always wanted to run a state school. This year he gets his wish, and gets to address an assembly of 12-13 year olds in a Somerset comprehensive. According to an anonymous witness, they don’t listen as carefully as he’d like. ‘ “You stand up when I enter the room”he shouts. “You will stand up and you won’t slouch around..” He was just going bonkers, telling them they were the most badly behaved kids. It went on for two or three minutes.” ’ Like any other comprehensive teacher, I’ve got my own memories of such incidents, but you’d have thought he might have known what was coming.