HEADTEACHER Bill Richards joined the Chief Inspector of Schools and 80 representatives from across the country in a bid to highlight difficulties of secondary modern schools in selective areas.

Buckinghamshire has a 100 per cent selection system which sees one third of students joining a grammar school and two thirds attending secondary moderns or comprehensives after sitting the eleven plus exam.

Mr Richards, of Sir William Ramsay School, in Hazlemere, was chosen to open the first ever conference of secondary modern schools at the Royal Society of Arts, in London, last Tuesday, which aims to be 'the voice of non-selective schools .'

Secondary modern teachers are furious at the scrapping of benchmark comparative tables for their school's by the Department for Education and Employment, which continues to publish tables for grammar and comprehensive schools.

"When we looked for answers the DfEE said there was no legal definition of a secondary modern school and removed the benchmark without any warning," said Mr Richards.

He added: "We have a situation where two thirds of children are branded as or feel themselves to be failures at a very young age. The Association will enable teachers of secondary moderns who undoubtedly face similar problems to work together to ensure their pupils receive the best possible education and care and live up to their true potential."

Mike Tomlinson, the Chief Inspector of Schools, offered to work with the Association in identifying 'real achievement' and not just 'what can be measured' when he addressed the conference.

"We are unanimous in our hope to develop into a force for influence and change and to prove at last that our staff and pupils are winning against the odds," added Mr Richards.