The Etons of the East End: the ambiguities of educational urgency and the neoliberal fantasy

This paper scrutinises the concept of educational urgency through the experiences of former students at two sixth forms in a working-class, ethnic minority borough in East London, Brampton Manor Academy (BMA) and the London Academy of Excellence (LAE). Crowned as the 'Etons of the East End', BMA and LAE have become templates for educational policymakers due to their records of raising aspiration and aiding historically disadvantaged students to gain admission into top universities. Through interviews, former students share how BMA and LAE ascribed neoliberal fantasies of success to their educational identities under the guise of meritocracy. They speak powerfully to the struggles of social mobility as they navigate the education system, their communities, and their broader lives. The role of academies as agents of cultural transformation not only reinforces the very structures that disadvantage their students but also obscures the notion of educational urgency and its significance.