Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Katharine Birbalsingh is the founder and headmistress of Michaela Community School in Wembley, and has been dubbed Britain’s strictest headteacher. Under her leadership, Michaela has become one of the country’s most successful state schools, while openly challenging the progressive orthodoxies of the British education system.
On Quite right!, Katharine argues that ethnic-minority pupils do not need to see themselves reflected in every aspect of a culture to feel that they belong – and that suggesting otherwise may itself be racist. She and Michael also discuss whether individualistic parenting has gone too far, why ritual should be at the heart of British schools and why children need a return to small-c conservative values.
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Katharine Birbalsingh is the founder and headmistress of Michaela Community School in Wembley, and has been dubbed Britain’s strictest headteacher. Under her leadership, Michaela has become one of the country’s most successful state schools, while openly challenging the progressive orthodoxies of the British education system.
On Quite right!, Katharine argues that ethnic-minority pupils do not need to see themselves reflected in every aspect of a culture to feel that they belong – and that suggesting otherwise may itself be racist. She and Michael also discuss whether individualistic parenting has gone too far, why ritual should be at the heart of British schools and why children need a return to small-c conservative values.
// SUBSCRIBE TO THE SPECTATOR
Get 12 issues for £12, plus a free £20 John Lewis/Waitrose voucher
spectator.co.uk/tvoffer
// FREE PODCASTS FROM THE SPECTATOR
Hear more from The Spectator's journalists on their podcasts, covering everything from the politics of the UK, US and China, to religion, literature, lifestyle and more.
spectator.co.uk/podcasts
// FOLLOW US
twitter.com/spectator
facebook.com/OfficialSpectator
linkedin.com/company/the-spectator
instagram.com/spectator1828
tiktok.com/@thespectatormagazine
