§ Mr. Hornbyasked the Minister of Education if he will make a statement about the London County Council's proposal to cease to maintain the Avigdor Secondary School.
§ Sir D. EcclesYes, I have approved the London County Council's proposal. The Governors and all those who have written to me are being informed.
I am satisfied that the Council has acted fairly and given the school a reasonable chance. It has been maintained since 1950, but has never succeeded in fulfilling its purpose as a grammar school for 300 boys and girls. In 1956 a report of Her Majesty's Inspectors on the school raised serious doubts about the propriety of continuing to maintain it. The Council gave the Governors till 1958 to put it right. A further inspection in 1958 showed that they had failed. Since then the Governors have had ample opportunities of putting their case both to the Council and to my Department. They would like now to change it into a school for girls, but they have produced no convincing evidence that it would succeed any better if boys were excluded.
In the light of the reports on the school and of its history I have no good grounds for refusing to approve the London County Council's proposal. I am as sorry as they are to cause disappointment to the school's supporters, but we both have to consider the interests of the children and to see that schools maintained from public funds reach a proper level of efficiency. I believe, too, that it is harmful to the cause of denominational schools to continue the expenditure of public money on one which has proved a failure. There are excellent Jewish maintained schools where the places are in great demand and I can assure my hon. Friend that I should be very willing to consider proposals to expand such a school.