The period between 1983 and 1994 witnessed a rapid array of initiatives introduced by the Conservative government, including GCSEs, the Baker Contract, AS levels, a national curriculum with key stages and attainment targets, local financial management, grant maintained status, SATs, OFSTED inspections, staff appraisal, and coursework examination, all of which caused a great deal of disruption to the school and contributed to an increased turnover of new staff in this period, with many new teachers swiftly exiting the profession. Wells suggested that this chaotic educational environment resulted in more difficulties for Chis and Sid than at any point in its history except during World War II. The school also witnessed a small decline in the grades achieved by its pupils, in part due to the increasingly localised and concomitantly decreasingly selective nature of admissions, although this decline was greatly exaggerated by the local press.