“There is a real problem of ambition in certain traditional communities, like East Durham, which needs to change … when you go into those schools you can smell the sense of defeatism.”
Once again the aggressive language used by the secretary of state for education has sparked controversy, this time as he denigrated the hard work of teachers and school leaders in East Durham in the North East of England.
What made Michael Gove’s comments earlier this month all the more outrageous is that he has, it seems, not been near a school in East Durham for some time.
When pushed by local MPs in the House of Commons as to how he had come to witness this “smell of defeatism”, Mr Gove admitted he had not actually smelt anything.
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