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Hard Times (1986-1994)

Government legislation affecting all state schools brought about major changes at QK in the 1980s. The most far-reaching was the 1986 Education Reform Act which laid down a National Curriculum for the first time, set Attainment Targets, introduced Key Stage Tests and the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), and increased the number of parents on governing bodies.

But another government measure had an even greater impact on QK: the abolition of the ILEA in April 1990 and the decision of the newly-created Westminster Local Education Authority (LEA) to make secondary schools manage their own finances. From the outset, income based on the number on roll (which had fallen dramatically during the 1986 asbestos disruption) would not cover staff salaries let alone pay for services previously provided centrally by the ILEA.

As surplus staff could not be removed (see panel), savings could only be made by not replacing teachers who left. This lead to a mismatch between available subject specialists and classes to be taught. Subjects outside the National Curriculum like drama and pottery were at risk and the Sixth Form offer shrank alarmingly.

The 1986 Act required a re-think of the 1970s concept of comprehensive education where mixed-ability teaching without formal testing was intended to end the social divisions inherent in the grammar/secondary modern model. Many people had detected a serious downside: too many school leavers could barely construct a sentence, let alone do sums. Parents and employers (though not some teachers) welcomed the new national compulsory Key Stage Tests at ages 7, 11 and 14. Successive governments expressed disapproval of mixed-ability teaching but didn't proscribe it.

Only a limited response to the 1986 Act was possible at QK due to a serious shortage of resources. A spiral of decline begun with asbestos was quickening as the roll continued to decline. A new Headteacher was appointed in September 1994 but an Ofsted Inspection in February 1996 identified "serious weaknesses". Governors were required to draw up an Action Plan...

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