-This year's A Level grades were very good despite tightening up the sylabus and marking (although the overall " pass" rate above grade F is still 98%).
-There is a much better social distribution of top grades than previously so more less well off students will be going to good universities.
-There are 30,000 additional university places than last year thanks to increased government funding.
Much of this success story is down to Michael Gove, summarily replaced as a supposed electoral liability by the new "Peace in our Time-I love teachers" lady. Students and their parents might like to join Mr Gove in reflecting on the justice or otherwise of being thrown out of office for being disliked by those to whom any reforms of a too often underperforming state educational system are abhorrent.
Unfortunately the executioner, David Cameron, marooned on an island of lack of feeling for realities outside his own close knit circle and advisors, has by ditching one of his best and most loyal performers, again devalued his own leadership.
Footnote: Another area in which British politics is currently flying blind is foreign affairs. Few/none of our leading politicians has a deep experience of or even interest in matters beyond our shores. Perhaps if they took their families on holiday to places further afield than Spain, Portugal and Italy (yes, that's Dave, Nick and Ed this month) they might just start to sniff, smell, feel and even understand a wider world. It will take time but it's never too late to start. Meanwhile sorry to anyone threatened with genocide in these holiday months,- we just can't get our heads around it. It's all too much.
