§ 8. Mr. John MarshallTo ask the Secretary of State for Education what is the number of applicants to Hendon grant-maintained schools for September 1995. [13249]
§ Mr. Robin SquireThe Department does not collect data on applications for places at individual schools, including Hendon grant-maintained school; but I would expect that, like GM schools generally, the three in Hendon are increasingly popular with parents.
§ Mr. MarshallIs my hon. Friend aware that Hendon school was the first grant-maintained school in London and that, since then, it has been transformed from being under-subscribed to being heavily over-subscribed? Is he aware that when my right hon. Friend the Member for Norfolk, South (Mr. MacGregor) visited the school, a teacher came up to him and said that she was a member of the Labour party but that the best thing that had happened to the school was its becoming grant-maintained? Does he believe that that school would be good enough for the right hon. Member for Sedgefield (Mr. Blair)?
§ Mr. SquireMy hon. Friend makes his point unmistakably. I am delighted to join him in congratulating the school in being a pathfinder and to tell him that not 135 only are 1,034 other schools now grant-maintained, but, in under two weeks, they will be joined by another batch of schools which will be free from LEA control.
As my hon. Friend says, a growing number of schools that are becoming grant-maintained continues to contain governors who are strong supporters of other political parties. I assume that they, having seen the evidence of their eyes, will go out and convert the Opposition parties so that they also become aware of the advantages of grant-maintained status.