Findings at High Arcal and Peters Hill, West Midlands

Abstract

This report is based on the findings from my visits to two schools in the West Midlands, England, to observe school management and administration. The schools were High Arcal, a mixed comprehensive, and Peters Hill, a mixed primary. They were both large schools. As well as interviewing the Heads and the deputies and other senior staff, I sat on various meetings, took part in school assemblies, observed quite a number of lessons and even shadowed the Head of High Areal for a day. The results are presented under a number of themes. During the period in which the fieldwork was carried out (12th to 23rd September, 1988), all state schools in England were in turmoil because of the 'Education Reform Bill' which proposed major changes in how schools are organised and managed.