Setting the agenda: The growing impact of market forces on pupil grouping in British secondary schooling

Recent changes in education in the UK seem to be contributing to an increasing prevalence of setting in comprehensive schooling. This paper charts the micropolitical history of ability grouping in the science department of a London comprehensive secondary school to show that issues of good pedagogic practice are at risk of becoming marginalized in the developing market culture if they appear to stand against market imperatives represented by the perceived requirements of 'valued' parents.