So, incredibly, although they are presumably about developing particular talents, they won't be able to determine whether most of their pupils have these talents in the first place. The government seems to have been persuaded to go down the specialist schools route by reports of their achievements. The Technology Colleges Trust, a survivor from the Thatcher era with its chairman, Sir Cyril Taylor, now a Blair adviser, has become a powerful lobbyist for them. Its studies show that their exam results are better and improving more quickly than other schools. But it is unlikely that the specialist concept can be scaled up to the whole system.
Specialist schools benefit from being special.
They get more than their share of motivated pupils. If only some schools are to be specialist, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that, given their extra funding, it will create a two-tier system. The government's justification for this dog's breakfast is diversity, and it is adding to the pot city academies, beacon schools and advanced specialist schools as well. It is supposed to work through parents expressing their preferences. But that depends on where you live.