I read this book as I began the labyrinthine local authority school application process. Living in an area where there's everything from community schools to faith schools to academies and parents tie themselves up in knots about where to send their kids, I wondered how our school system got so complicated and whether all this 'choice' does our children any good. This passionate and well argued book provides the answers. It explains how the concept of a non-selective comprehensive school system never got the chance to prove its worth, how these schools got a bad name in the process and why, after endless reforms, we are left with a bewildering range of schools that deliver far less than was promised. The book ends with ideas about how we might build an education system that serves everyone well. In setting out her argument Melissa Benn describes her own experience of the state school system, first as a pupil and then as a parent, and speaks to other parents and teachers (in both state and private schools) as well as drawing on academic research. She pulls together a great deal of information about the history and politics of post-war education but her style is very readable and you end up feeling informed rather than overwhelmed. Even as a supporter of the state school system, this book challenged my prejudices about what lies beyond the school gates. To borrow a phrase, this book shows that 'we are all in this together' - if we want the schools in our neighbourhoods to thrive then we have to support them and use them. This is an energising, important book that left me fired up with determination to defend our local schools.