PRESS RELEASE: EMBARGO UNTIL 22:30 ON THE 30TH OF DECEMBER
The Rt. Hon. Nick Gibb has been knighted for services to education.
We are delighted to see one of our most distinguished patrons, the Rt. Hon. Sir Nick Gibb, recognised in the New Year’s Honours.
Having served under multiple Prime Ministers as Minister for Schools, alongside Michael Gove, Sir Nick can take a huge amount of credit for transforming the quality of education in England’s schools. As a result of reforms he helped pioneer, by 2024 more young people were leaving education with better grades and improved life chances. This improvement was reflected in the international league tables, with schools in England shooting up the rankings for numeracy and literacy. Many Ministers can only hope to have an impact comparable to Sir Nick’s.
This honour also recognises Sir Nick’s 27 years of service as Member of Parliament for Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, including committed service from the opposition benches after 1997, through the long slog outside of government and finally back to power in 2010.
‘Arise Sir Nick’ seems a worthy culmination to many years of public service.
Responding to the knighthood announced in tomorrow’s Gazette, our Chairman, Luke Robert Black, responded by saying: “In 2010, Teach First reported that 1 in 25 students who were on free school meals in England went to university. This is now 1 in 3 students. I single this out because this statistic goes to the very heart of what Sir Nick has achieved in his long tenure as a Conservative Education minister – social mobility and a reintroduction of high standards in our schools. To say this is an achievement, feels like something of an understatement. Perhaps this richly deserved knighthood can go some way to pay respect to Sir Nick and his work”
Responding to the announcement, Cllr John Cope, former Chairman of the LGBT+ Conservatives and educationalist, said: “There are literally millions of young people in England today who have greater opportunity and success in their life because of Sir Nick. Sir Nick's unwavering commitment to high standards, knowledge, school autonomy, and his rejection of the soft bigotry of low expectations for those from disadvantaged backgrounds was fought tooth and nail by so many at the time, but it has propelled England to the very top of the world education rankings. We owe him a great debt."
Responding to the knighthood announced in tomorrow's Gazette, the Conservative Shadow Culture Secretary and LGBT+ Conservatives patron Rt. Hon. Stuart Andrew MP said: "The Rt. Hon. Nick Gibb can look back on a career of proudly delivering Conservative values and ideas in action - raising standards in England's schools, empowering teachers to run schools themselves, allowing communities to respond to gaps in their area and encouraging universities, businesses and charities to either set up or sponsor schools to drive competition, better parental choice and innovation in education for the first time. On reading, Nick's relentless focus on standards and phonics drove England's reading score from 10th in the world to 4th in just a few years. Nick did this - and much more - often in the face of extreme ideological opposition and resistance from the Labour Party, teaching unions and other ideological groups. To have achieved so much to transform the lives of English children in the face of such resistance is a testament to his grit, determination and resilience. I am delighted to see Nick rewarded".
Responding to the knighthood announced in tomorrow's Gazette, the Conservative Shadow Housing Minister and LGBT+ Conservatives patron Paul Holmes MP said: "It is fantastic to see such an effective and dedicated Conservative reformer rewarded for over of public service but also years of delivery for England's schools, teachers and students. Nick's impact on education is palpable, shown in countless league tables for standards but, and more importantly, for the children and young people that have been delivered a significantly better education. Nick's unwavering commitment to high standards was resisted by Labour and trade unions throughout his time - it takes someone with real determination to deliver what he did in this context and we should all be so grateful to Nick for his work"
