I am delighted by the support I have received from colleagues. It reflects the optimistic message that I've been putting forward.

Learning a foreign language, and the culture that goes with it, is one of the most useful things we can do to broaden the empathy and imaginative sympathy and cultural outlook of children.

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

The challenges facing Britain required not just a cool head, but a heart burning with the desire for change - not business as usual but a bold vision.

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.

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

One of the problems we've had is that the ICT curriculum in the past has been written for a subject that is changing all the time. I think that what we should have is computer science in the future - and how it fits in to the curriculum is something we need to be talking to scientists, to experts in coding and to young people about.