This state enforced 'curriculum, inspecting and examination' system of schooling.

There are children who are suited to, and respond to, this state enforced 'curriculum, inspecting and examination' system of schooling.  These children achieve what is required and give the necessary results for the appearance of success.  (This clearly suits the girls better than the boys and there may be no accident in that being an 'outcome'; acting to level the gender playing-field).  There are children who are not suited to the system, who fail to engage with the system and who are switched-off by the system.  Those children enter a damaging spiral which results in their rejection of the system and the system's rejection of them.  These children do not achieve what is required and therefore give the necessary results for the appearance of failure.

The natural instinct for inquisitiveness, study, thought, learning and expression - that which is clearly evident in most pre-school children - is all-but drummed out of many children by all facets of the schooling system.  This can be no mistake.  So many great minds working on developing a system of schooling, now for so many years, surely cannot have culminated in a system that causes so many bright, questioning, articulate young people to be measured as failures and only fact-learning, compliant, hard-working, reliable and focused people to be cast as successful.

We are, I fear, being subjected to a school system that is intended to maximise the production of a 'state-friendly' pliant and compliant population whilst simultaneously dissuading and disadvantaging those who are resistant to this schooling's indoctrination.  Would powers behind any kind of state deliberately devise a system that produced anything less than a desirable outcome for the continuation and supremacy of that state.

'As parents, we want our children's education to offer more than just a good schooling and academic success. We look towards the school to help foster our children's enthusiasm and passion for the subjects they study, to learn to be self-motivated in their endeavours, to enjoy self-confidence, to learn to solve problems and make decisions. We want our children to understand, value and empathise with others, to work together and realise the practical outcomes of all they undertake.

This is to place the child at the very heart of the educational process, to nurture their self-worth, build their confidence, value and broaden their range of interests.'

In reality, whilst I think most schools recognise the above form of objectives, they can do little to aspire to them beyond 'lip-service and platitudes'.

My wishes expressed and the steps necessary to work towards such goals, especially for children with today's social and media influences, are far removed from the reality in a schooling system that is all-but driven by a state enforced regime of curriculum and inspection with examination results apparently given as the prime objective.

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What is an 'English Baccalaureate'  - is it a Baccalaureate studied for using the English language or is it one just related to the regions presently known as England.

I see the English Baccalaureate is referred to as an 'EBacc' which is useful since that helps distinguish it from a 'European Baccalaureate' which is known as a 'Bac'.

Call me cynical (because I am) - I wonder how long it will be before there is a blending of the EBacc and the Bac which presently is used in the private establishments operated to school European Official's own offspring. www.eursc.org/index.php?id=138

It is fortunate that since next year the government has to keep so many more children occupied for an extra year of state enforced indoctrination that this conundrum has appeared on the horizon.