Wannabe Tory leader Liz Truss who keeps having “a pop” at her old state school was given special lessons by her “exceptional” teachers to help her gain a place at Oxford.
Liz Truss has claimed her former school, which she attended in the late 80s when the Tories were in power, ‘let down’ the children.
But former pupils, who attended Roundhay School in north Leeds, have slammed her comments saying ‘It’s not Grange Hill’ - pointing out how it sits in 22-acres of grounds in a sought-after leafy suburb of Leeds.
The area is so posh nearby houses can fetch two million pounds and parents fight to send their children to the ‘oversubscribed’ school, opposite one of the biggest city parks in Europe with stunning lakes and woodland.
Roundhay's former teachers have also defended the school and say her comments “denigrate” the achievements of others.
They have revealed how she was given references and lessons to help her get into Oxford.
They point out the school also takes people from the large council tower blocks, less than a mile away - but Liz was in top set and would not experience any of the hardships others faced.
Liz Truss has previously claimed that, during her time at school, too much time was spent “learning about racism and sexism” and “there was too little time spent making sure everyone could read and write.”
Mrs Charlotte Spence, 71, raised her eyebrows at the comments and told how her two children and two step-children all attended the school and they all spoke “very highly” about their time there.
“They’ve all done very well for themselves. Liz Truss’s brother was in my daughter’s class,” she explained.
“The school was on it for discipline and social support for the kids. They thrived. I was very surprised when she said she felt let down. Roundhay is a lovely place to live.”
Former pupil, Laura Parker, 51, who was a few years above Liz, told how she lived around six minutes one side of the school and Liz about seven minutes the other.
“I think she’s trying to rewrite her personal history, so she can pretend she’s from the wrong side of the tracks,” Laura, a Labour supporter, said.
“We lived in a very nice, middle-class area. Both our dads were university lecturers.
“Liz was not the only one from the school to go to Oxford. I remember a meeting about who might want to go to Oxford or Cambridge and about 14 or 15 people went to it; a number ended up at those and other universities.
“Liz had friends who lived on my cul-de-sac, one of their dad’s was head of the Crown Prosecution Service. I think Liz and my mum went to the same Peace Group.
“The school had an orchestra, cricket fields, did ‘The Boyfriend’ for a school drama production and our sports teams held their own against private teams.
“If I could point out one thing, it would be the material condition of the school - but you cannot blame the school for that. We had a Tory government and a Tory MP in Roundhay at the time.
“It’s a great school which had some exceptional teachers. It has a wide catchment area with many kids who didn't come from the nice leafy area we did.
“But the notion it was a bad school is just wrong.”
Dave Hendry, 46, from Roundhay, who is the co-founder and director of Data Protection People, was the year below Liz at school and said: “It’s annoying, she’s just trying to score points but that’s not right.
“I dispute everything she says. She is using it as a political stick. I think the teaching was absolutely fine and now it’s a fantastic school.
“It’s so good, outstanding in fact, that we are looking at getting my three children into Roundhay. Everyone wants their kids in there, people are buying houses in the area just to go there.
“The fact she went to Oxford shows Roundhay fulfilled all her educational needs.”
Aisha Farooq, 27, who runs ‘Rawcliffes the schoolwear specialist’, which sells the school blazer for under £30, said: “They are really well behaved when they come in. Local residents are very proud of the school. It’s garbage what she has said because it’s an outstanding school.”
Retired teacher, Bernie Hayes, who taught at the school when Liz attended, said: “The overwhelming feeling is that it’s just such an unfair comment. People are very annoyed.
“It was a challenging school to teach at but it was a good school with good staff. She was personally tutored in the sixth form to get into Oxford.
“It denigrates the efforts of some really good people, not just her but all the rest of the students we used to teach.
“Sometimes success is measured on a different scale than getting into Merton College in Oxford. ”
Another teacher, who did now wish to be named, pointed out Liz’s teachers wrote references for her for her Oxford application and did interview techniques with her.
Samantha Murphy, 25, who works at Tasty cafe on Roundhay Road, said: “She’s hilarious. This is one of the most sought after areas in Leeds. Houses here go for a million pounds.
“What she said is such a joke. You need money to be here and everyone wants to live here. She’s obviously not a true northerner at heart!”
TV doctor, Dr Amir Khan GP has even defended the school by tweeting: “Roundhay is literally one of the nicest (and most expensive) parts of Leeds! And Roundhay School is outstanding, parents move to Roundhay just to get a place at that school.”
The local estate agent, who has worked in Roundhay for 25 years, said the “excellent” school makes it a popular place to buy a home.
Sharon Backhouse-Jones, 62, said: “Parents want to move into the area for the junior and the senior school. It keeps property prices more stable than most.”
She says there is “no upper limit” on the houses and you are “buying a slice of history”.
Liz Truss attended the school in the late 1980s and early 90s, before graduating in 1993 to attend Merton College Oxford to earn a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics (PPE).
On Thursday, July 14, she said in her opening statement of the Tory leadership battle: “I wasn’t brought up as a traditional Conservative. I grew up in Paisley. I went to school, comprehensive school in Leeds.
“And what I saw at that school is I saw lots of children being let down by low educational standards, by a lack of expectation and also by a lack of opportunity. And I just thought that was an incredible waste.”
In a TV debate three days later, on Sunday, July 17, she told her competitor Rishi Sunak: “My fundamental belief and the reason I am a Conservative is I saw kids in my school being let down in Leeds.
“I saw them not get the opportunities, not get the proper educational standards that you might have got at your school Rishi.”
She has also suggested her school was located in England’s ‘red wall’ during her time there but Leeds North East had a Conservative MP from 1955 until 1997, when Labour’s Fabian Hamilton took over.
