Where education is concerned, everything is about leadership. My family and I live in Tyburnia, just off Edgware Road. Twenty-two years ago we (well, my wife) started looking for a primary school for our two daughters. My wife soon found out about a Church of England state primary, Hampden Gurney, just around the corner, which was run by the extraordinary Evelyn Chua and was a school that was positively glimmering with academic success.
It was immediately impressive: there were children representing most religions and races in London — when our children joined, around 60. The school was representative of the area (which includes Lisson Grove, one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Westminster), meaning that half the pupils were on free school meals. The discipline was obviously adhered to, as it was quiet, orderly, and the children seemed incapable of not smiling. The school soon became one of the most successful in London, then the country as a whole, and is still regularly ranked in the top five nationally.
