Could do better: leafy suburbs hide low achievers

The UK Audit Commission has drawn attention to the fact that schools in some of the country's wealthiest counties are not performing as well as they could be, given the background of their pupils. Chris Woodhead, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, believes that local education authorities in these counties should now be challenged to improve their performance, rather than just being content with average results. Some observers are taking issue with the Audit Commission and Chris Woodhead, pointing out that using free school meals as an indicator of deprivation is not reliable.