Nicky Morgan receives scathing resignation letter from teacher accusing Tories of 'obliterating' education system

'In some ways I don’t feel like a teacher at all anymore. I prepare children for tests. They’ve not enjoyed it, I’ve not enjoyed it, but we’ve done it'

Former Education Secretary Nicky Morgan (Getty)

An assistant head teacher has written a scathing open letter of resignation to Education Secretary Nicky Morgan, condemning the government’s education reforms.

Zoë Brown, who writes teaching blog The Girl on the Piccadilly Line, accused the Conservative Party of having “destroyed the education system”, arguing that reforms over the last six years had focused on tests not genuine learning.

She said budget cuts also meant schools have had to cut back on support staff, while a forced increase in pension contributions had left teachers worse off and suffering from low morale.

“In the six short years I have been teaching, your party has destroyed the education system. Obliterated it. Ruined it. It is broken,” Ms Brown wrote.

“In some ways I don’t feel like a teacher at all anymore. I prepare children for tests. They’ve not enjoyed it, I’ve not enjoyed it, but we’ve done it: and one thing my children know how to do is answer test questions.”

Ms Brown pointed to recent research that found nearly half of England’s teachers plan to leave the profession in the next five years, and also highlighted an article for the Independent written by her fiancé, who also quit as a deputy head teacher in March.

Despite quitting her job, Ms Brown wrote that she would “keep up the fight”, adding: “If you do end up losing your job over your shambolic running of the education system – make sure they don’t replace you with Boris.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "It is disappointing to hear of any teacher choosing to leave the profession, and we will respond to this letter in due course.

"But we make no apologies for our reforms that are giving more children than ever before the best start to life. Thanks to the hard work of teachers there are a record number of children in good or outstanding schools – 1.4 million more since 2010.

“We want that trend to continue which is why the proposals in our White Paper will put power back in the hands of the teachers and school leaders who know their pupils best, alongside new measures to more swiftly tackle failing and coasting schools.”