School lottery

Brighton council has decided that where schools are oversubscribed, places will be allocated by lottery.

This has naturally upset a lot of people who in the past have been able to manipulate the system to their advantage but to my mind a lottery is not only fairer it might also have a knock on effect of improving some of the poorer schools.

Currently wealthy parents tend to move into the area of better schools, pushing up house prices thus excluding many kids on the basis of their parents' earning power.

Under the lottery system, a number of kids from wealthy or especially interested parents will end up at the poor performing schools. Then watch them move into action. They will put pressure on teachers, education departments, MPs and government until the poor school performs better.

And isn't that what we need? Shouldn't the aim to be that wherever you live, there is a good school for your child?

Sometimes even I can see the benefit of market forces - if they are given a little nudge in the right direction and that's just what Brighton's lottery will do.

Saltaire Sam