Conclusion

Coventry, though not perfect, must be considered one of the more competent local education authorities in the country — tactically as well as strategically. An attractive city to live in, it has perhaps gained as much from the efflux of its middle‐class population as, ironically, from the Blitz of 27 years ago. Whether the city is described as a truncated social pyramid, a workers' paradise, or even a proletarian ghetto does not much matter. What it certainly has developed is a strong sense of civic responsibility that has not only seen it through 30 years of stable one‐party rule, but has allowed the change last May in party control to be effected with the minimal educational disturbance. A small city with a large and growing population and a development plan of some imagination, it is now where Dan Smith must have wanted Newcastle‐upon‐Tyne to be. Prosperous, identifiable, and cohesive.