Ed Balls could have got it right.

Poverty – the material kind – has nothing to do with poor exam results.

Teachers are the key; the excuse culture, said the Education Secretary, is “totally unacceptable” and not the reason some schools slumped in the recent secondary schools’ league tables.

He should have gone further. There is not one key here, but two; that second key is the parents. It is not only down to teachers to inspire; parents have a stake in that, too.

Terry Reynolds, the county council’s director for learning, is sympathetic but does not agree.

“Yes, schools are likely to work better with parents on board, but the real issue is one of teaching,” he declared.

“Of course it is easier teaching if the children are all up for learning, but schools have got to teach the children they have got – and do the best they can with them.”

Which leads back to those league tables and, inevitably, Essex County Council’s plan to make radical changes to Colchester’s non-selective secondary schools.

Everyone knows that story by now, and the most likely scenario – the closure of two schools and turning another, Sir Charles Lucas, into an academy. However, Mr Reynolds won’t be provoked. He is currently in the middle of meetings with Colchester’s headteachers, so things are delicate, but, yes, all will be revealed next Tuesday during the county council’s cabinet meeting.

“Those league tables directly affect reorganisation because they reflect what is going on in some of Colchester’s secondary schools, but they do not influence the county council to rethink its strategy for Colchester.”

Ed Balls wants all secondary schools to achieve a 30 per cent GCSE A*-C results in the near future. This time, the two schools which could close did so much better.

Alderman Blaxill got 26 per cent and Thomas, Lord Audley 33 per cent. If they are obviously improving, why close them?

“What must be remembered is there are two aspects to this – improving standards and getting rid of surplus capacity,” said Mr Reynolds.

“There are far too many empty places in Alderman Blaxill and Thomas, Lord Audley schools. Alderman Blaxill can accommodate 1,000 and has, what, 400?”

But this is a spurious argument. In the not-too-distant future, north Essex’s building programme will mean a lot more children of secondary school age living in Colchester. If the county council is prepared to send children living in the Alderman Blaxill catchment area to other schools, why not do the reverse?

“As I said, there are two aspects and they must be taken together,” he said. “Despite the current league tables, standards in those two schools are not as the county council would like.”

He insisted that there is still a two-tier education system in Colchester with Alderman Blaxill, Thomas, Lord Audley and Sir Charles Lucas “still considerably worse” than the town’s other schools.

“I agree that, historically, those schools have had periods of improvement,” he stressed, “but that improvement must be much more consistent. The county council doesn’t mind a dip – but it does not want a tailspin.”

Some would argue that the two-tier system has nothing to do with standards but everything to do with selective education. Apparently not. Everyone supports Colchester’s grammar schools. There is “no evidence” to the contrary.

However, there is evidence that Alderman Blaxill and Thomas, Lord Audley are improving, and no-one is denying the teachers in those schools are doing a tremendous job, even when it is not possible for all teenagers to reach Mr Balls’s GCSE target, so why not give those schools a chance?

“I do recognise the argument and I do recognise that not every child can achieve this (GCSE target),” said Mr Reynolds. “But many schools would do better – and there is evidence to support this – if pupils’ aspirations were higher.

“This is something we do not necessarily see in schools which are under-achieving.

“It is not just down to the teaching staff to teach. Teachers must catch children’s interest and inspire them. Yes, many teachers do that – but the county council wants that inspiration in every school.”

Doesn’t inspiration begin at home? He wouldn’t go down that road.

“At the end, whether or not parents are involved, children know – they must know – that schooling is important,” he said. “Teachers have to tap into that.”

He might have added “no excuses”.

DECISION TIME FOR COUNTY COUNCIL

  • Essex County Council put forward three options, favouring option one – closing Alderman Blaxill and Thomas, Lord Audley schools, putting future pupils in other schools in the town and “recreating” Sir Charles Lucas school as an academy
  • Other options have been put forward by Jonathan Tippett, executive head of Thomas, Lord Audley, Stanway and Alderman Blaxill schools, and North Essex MP Bernard Jenkin. All can be viewed on the county council website essex.gov.uk/colchester schools
  • The decision on which option to adopt will be revealed by the county council at its cabinet meeting next Tuesday.

This comes after weeks of consultation. If the cabinet agrees to the decision, there will be further consultation which will last until mid-March. It comes before cabinet again at the end of March

  • It will take five years before all the changes have taken place, whichever option is chosen