Saturday school could possibly help poorer pupils

Poorer children could go to school on Saturday if the Tories win power, shadow schools secretary Michael Gove said yesterday.

Giving youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds more time in the classroom during the week and at weekends would help close the achievement gap with their richer peers, he suggested.

Mr Gove said he had a "hunch" that parents would support the proposals and insisted it would be up to individual schools to decide to open longer, or at weekends.

But parents said Saturday classes could become a "badge of dishonour" if pupils were forced to go, while teachers raised concerns about their workload.

Mr Gove told the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) annual conference in Manchester: "Children who come from homes where parents don't have the resources to provide additional stretch and cultural experiences, there are benefits in having those children in the learning environment, in school, for longer." But he was met with laughter from delegates when he said this would only work if it had the "enthusiastic support of teachers".