Labour is harming the very pupils it should be helping

OVER the past four decades, I've committed considerable time and resources towards helping young people receive a better education.

- Lord Ashcroft

Students at Ashcroft Technology Academy are achieving impressive results

My most significant contribution has been the founding of a city technical college - later transformed into Ashcroft Technology Academy (ATA) - in southwest London in 1991.

ATA provides free education for more than 1,500 children of mixed ability aged 11 to 18 and, as Chairman of Trustees, I can honestly say it's not fashionable ideologies that transform their life chances. It's the quiet, relentless pursuit of excellence in every aspect of school life and an ambitious curriculum.

By setting demanding standards, by nurturing a culture of ambition, by promoting the benefits of hard work and success, our students - particularly those classified as disadvantaged - achieve exceptional results. These experiences and successes are the reason I find the Government's proposed reforms to secondary education so deeply concerning.

WE WELCOME a significant number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds and who have known Special Educational Needs (SEN) yet we are one of the 15 top performing schools in England. Our absence rate is the lowest in the country, and our disadvantaged and SEN students outperform national averages.