Interesting overhear in a Crouch End Cafe today. Mother, ethnic group white English I would have said, with her son - looked about four years old - and his group is what I think of for short hand as a "North London Brown" There are lots of multi racial couples in Crouch End; often it is white Western European with either meditreanian - Turkish, Kurdish, Greek, Moroccan or African, either direct as it were or mediated through Afro Carribean, so dad darker than mum anyway. She is commenting about school choice for her son. She remarks that a well known local school although well regarded and with an excellent Ofsted does not score so well in the ofsted report on multi cultural issues. So she was going to send her child to a slightly less (but that is relative - we are talking Crouch End here) well regarded local school which seemed to her better on the multicultural front. Actually this chimes with my own impression of that school, but it does raise the interesting point that if she is typical then the less than fully multicultural school will over time become even less so. Neither of the schools mentioned are, by the way, the one with which I am connected, as a school governor. Actually Ashmount School, where I am a Governor is extremely diverse reflecting I would have said, not policy as such, but the nature of the catchment. But I know that the multi ethnic nature of the school is a matter of satisfaction for the parents and staff. As to which comes first, the composition, and our pleasure in it who can really say. Over 40 home languages represented. And plenty of "North London Brown " children.