ABSTRACT
Ministerial soundbites are nothing if not transitory. Education Minister Michael Fallon’s assertion in 1991 that the Leeds report was ‘devastating’ and ‘a parable for our times’ could hardly be rated a considered judgement, except in so far as it reflected a sizing-up of political possibilities. Yet it captures well enough the comprehensive way that the Leeds report, and the initiative with which it dealt, were together caught up in the maelstrom of political and journalistic opportunism during the months preceding the 1992 general election. In this and the next chapter I shall show how one city’s educational policies and practices became the catalyst for the national policy initiative known by some as the ‘three wise men’ inquiry which led to the DES primary discussion paper of Alexander et al. (1992), and how in turn this fed a broadening tide of concern about the effectiveness of British primary education in relation to the demands of the National Curriculum and in comparison with what is achieved in other countries. I shall also attempt to assess the impact of this initiative.
