… subtitled: "Brian copies his homework off the internet".

This is useful: "Decades of trying to get the balance right". It will be convenient for me – and for some of you? – to be able to link to from here. For a while anyway.

I was tempted to copy the whole thing, and duly surrendered to temptation:

1944: Butler's Education Act creates Ministry of Education, organises public education into primary, secondary and further stages, ends fee-paying in maintained schools and creates county colleges to provide education to age 18.

1947: School leaving age raised to 15.

1951: O-levels replace School Certificate and A-levels replace Higher School Certificate.

1959: Central Advisory Council report proposes 20-year programme to ensure half of pupils in full-time education until 18 by 1980.

1964: Department of Education and Science replaces Ministry of Education.

1965: Certificate of Secondary Education (CSE) introduced for students at secondary modern schools.

1972: School leaving age raised to 16.

1976: Education Act compels local education authorities to introduce comprehensive education.

1979: Education Act repeals 1976 act on comprehensive schools.

1980: Education Act introduces assisted places at independent schools.

1983: Technical and Vocational Education Initiative for 14-18s.

1986: O-levels and CSEs abolished, replaced by General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE). National Council for Vocational Qualifications established.

1988: National Curriculum and grant-maintained schools introduced under the Education Reform Act.

1989: Advanced Supplementary (AS) introduced, separate exam the equivalent of half an A-level.

1992: General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) introduced.

1992: Further and Higher Education Act removes sixth-form colleges from LEA control. Polytechnics granted full university status.

1995: Standard Attainment Tests (SATS) introduced for children at key stages 1, 2 and 3.

1997: Education Act scraps assisted places at independent schools.

1997: National Literacy Strategy introduced in primary schools.

2000: Curriculum 2000 changes AS qualification to Advanced Subsidiary, an exam taken after the first year of an A-level course.

And don't let's forget 2003: This, which John Clare really does think is quite important.