Saturday school for 'poor' students proposed by Tories

April 01 2010

The Conservative party has unveiled plans to introduce Saturday lessons for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds, according to a news report.

Speaking at the Association of Teachers and Lecturers' (ATL) conference in Manchester, Shadow Schools Secretary Michael Gove said that the additional school hours could help close the gap between poor and rich, allowing a bigger number of children to benefit from better access to sport, music and extra tuition.

"Children who come from homes where parents don't have the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences could benefit from being in school for longer", Mr Gove was quoted as saying by the BBC. What is additional stretch?

According to the publication, Dr Mary Bousted, the general secretary of ATL, said more teaching staff would be needed to back the plan.

In other news, Lesley Ward, the president of ATL, has called on politicians to stop using education as a political football and leave learning to teachers.

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