State school run by Britain’s strictest head gets 70% A/A* grades despite Lucy Powell claiming disadvantaged students are being ‘let down’ by focus on academic subjects
Michaela Community School in Brent, north-west London, run by headteacher Katharine Birbalsingh, has achieved nearly 70 per cent A and A* A-level grades, more than double the national average of 28.5 per cent, despite serving one of the country's most deprived communities. The results come days after new Education Secretary Lucy Powell argued that schools prioritising academic subjects were "letting down" disadvantaged pupils, prompting Conservative education spokesperson Laura Trott to challenge Powell to explain how such outcomes could be seen as detrimental to pupils.
A third of Michaela's entries were graded A*, against a national average of 9.6 per cent, with 10 per cent of pupils achieving all A*s and two winning places at Oxbridge. Around 90 per cent of entries were A* to B, students averaged AAA overall, and Birbalsingh said 11 per cent of pupils would study medicine and 85 per cent would go to Russell Group universities. The school's results now approach those of Eton College, and its success has been attributed to a strict "no excuses" discipline ethos, including a behaviour "boot camp" for new pupils, though critics on the left have accused Birbalsingh of focusing too narrowly on academic subjects.
- Michaela School hits 70% A/A* grades, beating national average
- Comes amid row over Powell's comments on academic-focused schools
- School's discipline-focused approach rivals top private schools like Eton
Both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Supporters of a rigorous academic curriculum argue that high expectations, orderly classrooms and strong teaching give disadvantaged pupils access to the knowledge and qualifications often most valued by universities and employers. A school achieving strong grades may suggest that academic ambition need not be reserved for affluent families, and that lowering intellectual demands in the name of inclusion can entrench inequality. They see mastery of core subjects as a route to greater choice and social mobility.
The case against
Critics argue that one school’s results cannot settle a national question, particularly without information about its intake, resources, progress measures or the support available to pupils with additional needs. They contend that disadvantaged young people may be let down if a narrow focus on examination-heavy academic subjects sidelines vocational pathways, arts, wellbeing and practical support that help different pupils thrive. In this view, equal opportunity means offering high standards alongside a broader curriculum and judging schools by pupil progress and long-term outcomes, not grades alone.
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