Teacher and Labour MP determined to speak out against deprivation in his Durham constituency
Like so many others of his generation, the former Labour MP Gerry Steinberg, who has died aged 70 of cancer, had a career that was profoundly affected by failing the 11-plus examination. His subsequent success in nevertheless securing a college education and training as a teacher himself provided him with a lifelong mission to defend universal access to the best possible education.
“I can clearly remember the despair on the morning when the results of the 11-plus were announced in the hall,” he said, many years later. “The headteacher read out who had passed. My name was not on the list. I have never known a feeling like it and to this day I can remember the horror.”
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