Inequality in Britain begins at school. Whereas comparable European countries operate fully comprehensive systems, Britain’s turbulent educational apparatus fuels societies’ underlying inequalities. Central to the system’s ailments is the continuation of private education alongside the free state education used by the vast majority of the population. While the Netherlands, Germany, Norway and Finland have insignificant private sector education, Britain has allowed its historic private schools to flourish, perpetuating an immense advantage afforded to the most privileged families in society.

This project proposes an alternative. Building on Labour Party Policy, the National Education Service would provide a truly integrated, socially inclusive and economically robust system, offering every citizen free access to life-long learning. Poplar, in East London, is taken as a testing ground to propose a pilot scheme, working with local stakeholders to create an education service with its foundations set firmly within the community. The ultimate aim of the project is to understand the nationwide applicability of an education system based on a community philosophy, and to identify the architectural and urban interventions the NES would require.