Clegg's school choice

Nick Clegg gave an awfully big hint at the Press Gallery Lunch Cluib that he may send his kids to the London Oratory School, despite being an atheist.

Well, good for him.

There really is no reason for this to be controversial.  As he pointed out, his wife and children are Catholics and they have every right to choose any school they like. 

It's a fantastic place with a public school ethos (haircuts, homework, holidays - and definitely not bog-standard) but nevertheless is a state-funded comprehensive.

It's the school Tony Blair chose when he lived much further away. Labour deputy leader Harriet Harman picked a selective grammar that was CofE even though the party is against selection and she had cited her husband's faith to justify using a Cathlic school previously.  We all made a fuss at the time but neither Blair nor Harman were wrong - they wanted good schools, which makes them just like every other London parent.

Here's the real issue:  London parents are less likely to get into their first choice of school than people in any other region.

Joe Murphy