NSW Premier’s announcement of a new selective high school is an attack on comprehensive public schooling

The NSW Teachers Federation has condemned the Premier’s decision to establish a new selective high school in southwest Sydney.

Teachers Federation President, Maurie Mulheron, called on the NSW Government to abandon its plan to create additional selective schools — and instead provide a well-resourced and comprehensive public school education system as the best means to maximise the intellectual and social potential of every student in every community.

“Selective schools adversely impact on secondary schools wherever they exist. Comprehensive schools suffer because of the false notion that selective high schools offer a superior education than a comprehensive high school,” Mr Mulheron said.

“It leads to residualisation and distorts overall school achievement, falsely compares schools and unnecessarily results in students travelling well beyond their local public high school at a cost to taxpayers.”

“The existence of selective schools impacts on enrolments, cause greater inequity, encourages social segregation and reduces broader curriculum options in many schools. Existing selective schools do not reflect the social diversity of their local communities.”

“There is simply no evidence that children who attend academically selective schools gain any advantage but there is ample evidence of their negative impact on thousands of children in neighbouring high schools.”

“Indeed, the proliferation of these old-fashioned institutions is an attack on opportunity and equity which are the central principles of public education.”

“This is another example where politicians pay lip service to ‘evidence-based decision-making’ while ignoring the evidence.”