EDUCATION IN CAMBRIDGE
A landscape for learning Cambridge is flourishing – but how can we tilt the scales of an unequal society so that everyone reaps the benefits?
superlative education provides the essential building blocks for a child’s future during their most
to research, a massive 85% of parents want to be more involved with their school – and when they are, the benefits are striking. Research suggests that, if parents feel involved in the life of their child’s school, there’s a direct impact on pupils. Children behave better, are more confident and enthusiastic about school and achieve better results. This works best when families are thriving. Economically, at least, some of the top-line figures make reassuring reading. Some workers in our area do very well, making our city one of the top five in the country when it comes to average weekly earnings. And our area is poised for further growth as a centre for technological and bioscience innovation. Alongside that, there are ambitious plans to build new houses on a grand scale, to cater for the highly skilled workers who will be required to turn those growth plans into a reality. What’s increasingly apparent is that this success just isn’t spread evenly.
formative years. Getting it right, though, involves planning, imagination and, for many schools, having to work wonders with a restricted budget. But the results can be very impressive. From letting children experience the real-life challenges of outdoor learning to ensuring there’s a place for creativity in every area of the curriculum, moving outside the traditional heartland subjects like visual and performing arts and into maths, science and engineering. It helps that our area is blessed with some phenomenal schools and colleges. Most achieve outstanding or good ratings from school inspectors (and you can bet that those who aren’t quite there at the moment will be going all out to make significant improvements). Parents and carers here, as in the country as a whole, are keen to be part of their children’s education. According
“Research suggests that, if parents feel involved in the life of their child’s school, there’s a direct impact on pupils”
8 SPRING/SUMMER 2024
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