ABSTRACT
In 1981 I took on the chairmanship of a large government committee with a widely mixed membership. Our job was to consider the problems of Britain’s ethnic minorities, and to make recommendations about the contribution that the educational system could make towards their solution. It took us four years, and in 1985 our massive report was finally published. It was, inevitably, the best consensus that the committee could reach, and I don‘t suppose for a moment that every member of the committee agreed with everything it said. Certainly I didn‘t. Nevertheless, it was welcomed by the government of the day, and I would like to think that it has subsequently acted as a worthwhile stimulus to the teaching profession.
