This conference is well timed. The debate on the future of education is opening up again, both intellectually and in party political terms, after a long period in the doldrums. The Prime Minister’s triple invocation of ‘education, education, education’ indicates a welcome sense of urgency, but in itself tells us nothing about policy .I want to concentrate on the structure of education, because ever since I got involved in the education debate thirteen years ago, I have always maintained that good achievement depends on good structure. It’s also right for an opening speech to put the structural discussion into historical context. The Prime ...