‘Cool head’ Katherine Birbalsingh leaves the ‘Queen of Social Mobility’ and admits she’s ‘doing more harm than good’

Katherine Birbalsingh, Britain’s most strict school principal, has resigned as head of the Social Mobility government after saying she would “do more harm than good”.

Announcing her surprise departure on Friday, Ms Birbalsingh said the “simple answer” to her decision to leave was “I have too much luggage”.

“I am increasingly aware that my tendency to express opinions that are considered controversial puts the committee at risk,” she wrote in an op-ed in school week.

“In general, I do more harm than good to the Committee of Social Mobility … Today I say goodbye [my] Role.”

The director of Michaela Public School at Wembley, who is known for her “tough” approach to teaching, said she has been repeatedly “assaulted on my seemingly repulsive views on social mobility”.

Ms Birbalsingh has previously denounced “revival culture” and has been involved in a regular Twitter debate on issues such as white privilege, racism, offstead and original sin.

She was criticized for comments made last year about girls not attending physics high school because they don’t like “difficult math”, though she insisted the comments were taken out of context.

The school principal, who was appointed social mobility officer in November 2021, also filed a hate crime charge with police last year after inviting right-wing Canadian professor Jordan Peterson to speak at her Wembley school.

Professor Peterson is a psychologist known for his controversial views on gender and has previously argued that masculinity is under “attack”.

However, Ms. Birbalsingh has also been praised for her radical approach to education. Her free public school in North London, which she founded in 2014, was rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, with more than half of all GCSE grades in 2019 at or above 7.

Last year, she brought cameras into the school for the first time for an ITV documentary called “Britain’s Strict Headmistress”, in which Cabinet Secretary Michael Gove praised her for her strict teaching methods.

Students at the school are prohibited from talking in the corridors, they will be fined if they forget their pens, and jailed if they don’t make eye contact. Ms Birbalsingh said the tough approach puts all students on an equal footing and silences bullies.

In her inaugural speech as the czar of social mobility last June, she was also praised for saying there was too much focus on getting students to go to Oxbridge or become top lawyers.

But when she announced her departure on Friday, Ms Birbalsingh said it was misinterpreted as her belief that “working class people should stay in their lane.”

She said: “Instead of fighting for the team and celebrating our accomplishments, I’m going to be a politician. And I can’t stand the thought of ever becoming a politician. It’s just not who I am or a skill I want to develop.

“As Michaela’s director, my directors can decide whether or not to hire me, despite my open nature. Therefore, I do not hesitate to comment on the company. But as chairman of the committee, people think I should be impartial, and it annoys a lot of people that I’ve been away from that for so many years. So, according to some people, I am not suitable for this job.”