Last week saw the opening of the Q3 Academy in Langley. The first new secondary school in Sandwell for over a decade. The scheme was approved by the government Department of Education in February 2015 and stage one of the project was completed within budget and on time. This enabled the school to open to its first 150 year seven students at the start of the school year. The Academy is sponsored by the Grace Foundation, set up by businessman Eric Payne, which already operates the highly successful Q3 Academy at Great Barr. Ultimately, Q3 Langley will accommodate over 1200 students and is a much welcomed addition to educational provision in the area.
The school represents the government’s prioritising education as a means to achieve social mobility and equality of opportunity for all regardless of background. The proposal to allow the expansion of existing and the creation of new grammar schools represents another aspect of this concern to ensure that every child has the chance to go to a good school. The manifest unfairness of good schools being located in prosperous areas and sink schools in deprived areas is not simply ethically unacceptable, it risks wasting the talents of bright children from poorer backgrounds both to their disadvantage and at a loss to the country.