Thanks, Sir Tel...

In an (Ed: sic, and pretty ironic, no?) scathing attack, Sir Terry said that Tesco is the largest private employer in the country and therefore depends on high standards in schools.

"Sadly, despite all the money that has been spent, standards are still woefully low in too many schools. Employers like us are often left to pick up the pieces."

Good job it isn’t the boss of ASDA saying this; I don’t think I could recommend him, having last week seen a little till-poster there stating ‘With your help, we’re using less bags!’…

Still, Sir Tel has pinpointed the main problem:

He added that too many educational agencies and bodies hamper the work of teachers in the classroom.

"One thing that government could do is to simplify the structure of our education system. From my perspective there are too many agencies and bodies, often issuing reams of instructions to teachers, who then get distracted from the task at hand: teaching children.

Mind you, Sir Tel, there’s quite a few of them who think their main task is something quite different…

Needless to say, DCSF is in full ‘Lie, lie, lie’ mode:

A spokesman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families defended the UK's education system.

"Standards have never been higher in our secondary schools. The vast majority of people working in education are on the front line, teaching in our schools."

And they’re being hampered in that by all the others…