A UK Government social mobility tsar has quit her role, citing the fact that she comes with “too much baggage” and was doing “more harm than good”.
Katharine Birbalsingh, who was appointed chair of the Social Mobility Commission (SMC) in 2021, said that some of her “controversial” statements had put the commission in “jeopardy”, leaving her with little choice but to step down.
Last year, headteacher Birbalsingh - who set up the Michaela Community School in Brent which has been dubbed the strictest in the UK - called for working-class children to focus on making "smaller steps" in life rather than trying to get into the countries' best universities.
She also came under fire for stating that girls tend not to choose physics at A-level because “there’s a lot of hard maths”.
And she was criticised for stating on Twitter that children are born with “original sin” and need to be “habituated into choosing good over evil” - comments the former UK Government Social Mobility Commissioner, Saeed Atcha, said were “whipping up division”.
Equalities minister Kemi Badenoch said Alun Francis, the principal of Oldham College and deputy chair of the commission, would take on the role on an interim basis.
Badenoch praised Birbalsingh, thanking her for “successfully giving the organisation a strong sense of direction and purpose”.
Birbalsingh announced her departure in an article for Schools Week.
She wrote: “I come with too much baggage. Over this past year, I have become increasingly aware that my propensity to voice opinions that are considered controversial puts the commission in jeopardy.
“As headmistress at Michaela, my governors can decide whether or not they wish to employ me despite my outspoken nature. So I feel free to comment on society. But as chair of the commission, people feel I need to be impartial and it irks many that for many years I have been anything but.
“So in some people’s minds, I am not right for the job.
“Sadly, I have come to agree. The commission team have been nothing but supportive, but I worry that all of our excellent work will be ignored by virtue of my presence.”
The headteacher said that she had decided that “on balance, I am doing the social mobility commission more harm than good”, as she praised her successor as “utterly brilliant”.
Badenoch said of Francis that she had “seen that Alun has all the necessary skills and experience to ensure accountability and strong leadership of the Commission and will continue to champion and improve social mobility across the UK”.
He said that he was “very pleased” to take on the role.
“The commission has had a fantastic 12 months, from launching our first State of the Nation report to making great progress on our research priorities.
“The SMC continues to go from strength to strength, and I look forward to working with the Minister for Women and Equalities to continue to champion social mobility across Britain.”
