A Class Apart: Learning the Lessons of Education in Post-Devolution Wales

A Class Apart will be essential reading for those involved in the education sector. The book investigates the effectiveness of educational policies in Wales, such as the Foundation Phase and Welsh Baccalaureate, that have been introduced by the Welsh government since devolution. It also assesses whether these policies have really created the potential for Wales to become a 'small, clever nation.' Spanning all major policy developments since 1999, from primary to higher education, A Class Apart also examines the legacy of the two main protagonists, former Education Ministers Jane Davidson and Leighton Andrews. It investigates the issues that some policymakers wished were swept under the carpet, and it delves deeper to analyze the big issues effecting educational practitioners in Wales, including: Welsh education's place on the world stage * the growing funding gap between Wales and England * the role of schools' inspectorate Estyn * the truth behind Wales' ambitious PISA target * the 2012 GCSE grading fiasco * secrecy and the personality clashes in the higher education merger saga. The chronological account also includes the events up to and following the PISA results of 2013. Additionally, the close proximity to the key protagonists in Welsh education provides the perfect position to judge the situation in which Wales' education system finds itself today. (Series: Education) [Subject: Education Policy, Welsh Studies]

Gareth Evans has been the Education Correspondent of the national newspaper of Wales, The Western Mail, since December 2009. He was educated at Cardiff University and lives in the Vale of Glamorgan.