The geography of the 'new' secondary education market and school choice in England and Wales

Since 1979 there has been a marked shift in the education system of England and Wales, and, in particular, in the provision and organisation of compulsory schooling. One of the key components of this shift was the introduction of Open Enrolment, which gave parents the opportunity to state a preference over the school they would like their children to attend. This study examines the secondary education system and specifically focuses on issues of equity in the 'new' education market, both in the process of parents choosing a school and the product, or outcome, of this new system on school admissions. This is done from a geographical perspective, and consequently makes comparison between different LEAs and different schools, urban and rural. Using Geographical Information Systems this study examines patterns of competition and choice based on pupil home postcodes and relates these patterns to the decision-making process of parents. This thesis presents the geography of the 'new' secondary education market and provides a conceptual framework that stresses the importance of the geographical context behind competition and choice. This research also shows that consideration of 'local' markets is necessary in aiding an understanding of the reforms, and that the outcomes of competition between schools tends to reflect their relative examination performances. However, it is also clear that parents from different socio-economic backgrounds are 'active' in the 'new' education market, which, consequently, has in the majority of cases prevented further social segregation of intakes, and has in some cases actually reduced social polarisation. There is a cautionary note to these findings since the study also shows that there are a small number of schools, which due to their extreme levels of popularity and unpopularity, have seen the socio-economic composition of their intakes change dramatically, increasing the social divide between these schools.