Announcing her decision to quit, Birbalsingh, who was once dubbed “Britain’s strictest headteacher”, said she was “doing more harm than good to the commission”.
“I have become increasingly aware that my propensity to voice opinions that are considered controversial puts the commission in jeopardy,” Birbalsingh wrote in Schools Week.
The founder of Michaela Community School, in Wembley, was appointed to the role in October 2021.
In a blog, entitled Why I’m leaving the social mobility commission, Birbalsingh said that media coverage of her views on social mobility, including comments made in her inaugural speech in June, was overshadowing the commission’s work.
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