Dover Grammar School for Boys headmaster Neil Slater retired at the end of August after over a decade in charge of the school. On the eve of his departure, he talked to JONATHAN HOLDEN about the changes he has seen in education - for better and for worse...

"THE thing I feel at the moment is that I'm less inclined to make dogmatic statements," he said.

"After all, I've been around long enough to know there are no simple answers when it comes to education. Ultimately, it's all about people and having faith in them as a community."

He says the main change he has seen is the way the government has become involved in education - but not always for the better.

"They started to take education really seriously in the '80s. I think that until then, we teachers were the only ones taking it seriously.

"But in one sense," he laughs. "When government got involved it went wrong!

"Of course, the thing I must say, is that all of the changes were clearly made with the best intentions. But there's no question that government is now far more keen to control what goes on, and it is harnessed to the political cycle.

"The years that served the I school best were the grant maintained years when we had the funds and could just get on with it.

"The problem is that when central government imposes its will on schools there is a uniformity to it. And that's not something I value. Many of their initiatives were designed for comprehensives and don't apply at all well to the Kent selective system."

For old hands such as himself, some of the changes and radical discoveries - have been frustrating.

"There's been an awful lot of, discovering that the sky is blue - stating the obvious. It seems to me that what's being thought about centrally - by government, by (school's inspectors) OFSTED - well, they're finding out what we've always known. I've always known that boys, for example, needed much clearer direction than girls.

"But they are trying to provide a standard for everyone, so it's not just privileged information for people like me."

He speaks with a real pride and enthusiasm about his own education, first in County Durham and then at Cambridge University.

"When I came here as a maths teacher the subject was deeply unpopular. In fact, most people hated it and I was keen to demonstrate how exciting it was. And, by and large, that has happened - it's far less or of a subject to fear. It's much the same with modern languages and science."

He pauses and says he wants to make one point clear.

"Stability and confidence are essential things in a school. Of course, I would say that - having spent 34 years here!

"I'm very aware how long it takes to mould a school - at its heart it's years of work. There's far too much trust in the quick fix - and the government and county are getting caught out by it.

"The big mess around A-levels in 2002 is an example but I can see it in almost everything."

Not that he is apologising for poor performance. Mr Slater points out the school's A-level results put it fifth in the county for the second year running. He also identifies its stage three results for 14-year-olds which are, he says proudly, 'significantly upon last year'.

Another bone of contention are the government league tables - which have turned exam results into a chart battle.

"They are very brutal, but it's important to put the results in context. But that's not to say people shouldn't be given the information. Here, we've been helped rather than hindered by them - but that's because we're in the top sector:'

However. he had bruising experiences - particularly after the school decided to take pupils who had not passed the 11 plus.

"We've been listed as one of the top 50 schools in the country, but I've also had some quite bad experiences with OFSTED and county advisors misreading statistics. After all, a quarter of our pupils wouldn't have got in anywhere else in the county.

"There are far fewer difficulties with discipline or real educational or social problems these days, but the pressure on us to get high academic standards is enormous. The slightest slip is soon pointed out - very forcibly! They are very high and if we fail to meet them the consequences are very sharp indeed!"

Mr Slater also had some words for his successor - girls grammar head Julia Bell. He said rumours her appointment paved the way for a merger were wide of the mark.

"I'd like to say how much I support the appointment of Julia Bell to both schools. They were founded together and belong together. But it does not mean they have to become a co-educational Grammar school. The decision has more of an impact on the business side of things.

"If I have any advice for her, it is to fight tooth and nail to preserve the independence of the grammar schools against central government."

Hard-talking new head Julia Bell gives uncompromising speech at old boys' evening. Click here.