In this article Geoff Barton argues that the debate about large versus small schools is a largely phoney one that misses the essential point about the quality of provision. Using Michael Barber's international comparisons, he suggests that our focus should be on creating the conditions for teachers to teach as well as they can, and proposes that a streamlined staffing structure would help to regain this focus. He says that large schools are best placed to lead this change rather than fighting rearguard campaigns in the big versus small debate. (Contains 7 notes.)