Children themselves know they are being cheated. Ultimately we owe it to our children. They are in school for 190 days a year. Every moment they spend learning is precious. If a year goes by and they are not being stretched and excited, that blights their life.

As long as there are people in education making excuses for failure, cursing future generations with a culture of low expectations, denying children access to the best that has been thought and written, because Nemo and the Mister Men are more relevant, the battle needs to be joined.

I'm a decentralizer. I believe in trusting professionals.

It is literally the case that learning languages makes you smarter. The neural networks in the brain strengthen as a result of language learning.

You come home to find your 17-year-old daughter engrossed in a book. Which would delight you more - if it were 'Twilight' or 'Middlemarch?'

I'm clear that we do need to improve what's happening in our schools.

I will ensure we honour the instructions the British people have given us. I argued for specific changes in the referendum campaign, I believe in them, I will deliver them.