Schools serving urban areas are at the forefront of state education and on their success depends a high quality public service accessible to all. Urban schools worldwide have received much attention from national and local policy makers, not all of it helpful. This book looks at how provision can be brought to a high standard."Schools for Our Cities" plots the social, political and economic changes of the past thirty years which have shaped the context for the current work of urban educators. Ranging from international perspectives to local case studies, it examines the nature of the particular educational challenges they face and the implications for teaching and leadership of the ways inner-city children learn. The book concludes with an assessment of what schools in urban areas - individually and collectively - need to be like to be successful and how this might be achieved.In writing this book for policy makers, academics, teachers, heads and school governors, Richard Riddell has drawn on his considerable experience as a Director of Education and as senior education officer in local authorities with substantial numbers of urban schools in the UK.