Alex Crossman, now Principal and Chief Executive of St George's British International School Rome, joined us while he was still executive head teacher of the London Academy of Excellence, the state sixth form in Newham that this year sent more students to Oxford and Cambridge than Eton or St Paul's. His own story mirrors the school's mission: he grew up on a West Midlands council estate, knew no one who had been to university, and went on to Oxford and the LSE before a career in finance and then teaching. In this episode, Alex dismantles the lazy criticisms of selective sixth forms, reveals the not-so-secret sauce behind LAE's results, and makes a powerful case for why every state school should prioritise pupils on free school meals.
