- guardian.co.uk, Sunday August 17 2003 01.52 BST
Sometimes there seems to be only three education stories, which are repeated with dreary regularity: Pupil Attacks Teacher and Teacher Sleeps with Pupil are tabloid staples while the third, Standards Are Falling, works across the media in the face of whatever facts. Thus, primary test results due this week, and expected to show that the proportion of 11-year-olds reaching hoped-for levels in maths has dropped, will be seen as proof that children are becoming innumerate, while A-level pass rates rising to a record 95 per cent last week was seen as proof that exams were getting easier.
We celebrate pupils' achievements and hope that next week's GCSE results will not be used as an excuse to roll out more stories about falling standards. But the success of students should not divert attention from the Government's failings. Labour came to power with education as top priority. It has presided over a funding crisis that has left many schools without enough money to buy books or pay teachers. That children achieve so much against these odds is their major triumph.
