A UK Government social mobility tsar has quit her role, citing the fact that she comes with “too much baggage” and was doing “more harm than good”.
Katharine Birbalsingh, who was appointed chair of the Social Mobility Commission (SMC) in 2021, said that some of her “controversial” statements had put the commission in “jeopardy”, leaving her with little choice but to step down.
Last year, headteacher Birbalsingh - who set up the Michaela Community School in Brent which has been dubbed the strictest in the UK - called for working-class children to focus on making "smaller steps" in life rather than trying to get into the countries' best universities.
