Peter Nichols called God ‘a sort of manic depressive rugby-footballer’. The same might be said of those in charge of Britain’s public schools, with their compulsory Anglican ‘worship’, compulsory team spirit, compulsory militarism, compulsory misery and compulsory importuning of former pupils to contribute to this or that vacuous project. This last has nothing to do with education and everything to do with disseminating ‘the brand’: the headteacher, the hearty paedophile, the rosy-cheeked sky pilot, the donnish beak – these persons are in fact far down the school hierarchy, at the summit of which sits the marketing manager.

Subscribe or Sign In to read the full article