ABSTRACT
Any analysis of the local dynamics of reorganisation from selective to comprehensive secondary schools must include an examination of the case of London. The author's extended discussion of London also reflects some of the city's special qualities, however. It was especially 'visible' to the central government agencies involved, and what happened in the capital has been more fully documented – by historians, politicians and the press – than is the case anywhere else. It is thus appropriate to begin the authors' series of case studies with London. Realistically, a piecemeal movement towards comprehensive education over decades was the best that the London Labour Party could hope for, and by 1947 the authority had already embarked upon small-scale change. Signs of disillusionment which London teachers felt about the impasse situation again surfaced. The experience of London during the years of comprehensive reorganisation was both typical and utterly unique.
