We've all been there. LoL

PS> Mr Cameron did not name the school,

I'm at a recovering school serving a pretty tough housing estate on the outskirts of the city. A few years ago this school had one of the lowest GCSE pass rates in the country – now it's above the national average with 62 per cent getting 5 A-Cs at GCSE. But when you look at the percentage getting these grades in core subjects like English and maths, the percentage falls to 7%.

The day starts badly, for me at least. Helping register a class of 13 year olds, no-one – and I mean literally no one – has even heard of the Conservative Party. Using “hangman” on the smart new interactive whiteboard we get to “Conser_ati_e party” before any one gets it. As the point of me being here is to observe and to learn – and not get the usual “here's a visiting politician” treatment - maybe this is a good thing.

I'm not the only one with a bad start to the day. I meet a 16 year old boy loitering outside the hall where he's supposed to be sitting an important GCSE and he tells me he feels rotten - “got pissed last night” - and isn't looking forward to the exam. A timely reminder that improving schools is as much a matter for parents as it is for teachers.

Cameron stands by unruly boy story
4 days ago

David Cameron stood by a story he told about a disruptive pupil attacking a teacher amid claims from school governors that it never happened.

The Tory leader recounted the tale in his speech to his party's conference last week in a bid to highlight the need to give headteachers more powers to enforce discipline.

He told party members: "I went and taught in a school for a couple of days in the North of England and one teacher said to me 'there is only three words that you have got to focus on', and not the ones you might expect, 'behaviour, behaviour, behaviour'."

He continued: "I stopped a boy as he was running into his GCSE exam and I said 'What's the problem?' and he said 'Well, I got completely ****** last night, I've got a hangover and I'm going to flunk this exam'.

"And I asked a teacher about him and I was told well he'd attacked a teacher before and he trashed a classroom and none of us know why he's still in this school.

"So why do we allow this to happen, why don't we intervene earlier? Take the children out that are causing so much trouble, try and turn their lives around."

Tackled over his account on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show, the Opposition leader insisted: "Well it did happen. I was standing in a corridor outside the examination room; I spoke to this boy; I spoke to someone who had taught at this school afterwards; and what I said to the conference is absolutely how it happened."

Mr Cameron was defended by another governor, Coun Andrew Percy, a former history teacher at the school who accompanied Mr Cameron on the visit.

"No governors have any idea at all what goes on in a school in terms of pupil behaviour, they are only there once a month," he said.

"The best thing is for people not to comment. I was there at the time, I know that conversation took place but beyond that I'm not going to say anything that would identify a particular pupil."

He added: "It's ridiculous that a very serious point David was making is being overshadowed by a rather silly argument."

It came as he shadowed supply teacher - and Tory candidate - Andrew Percy at Kingswood College of Arts in Bransholme, Hull, in the constituency of Labour MP Diana Johnson.

Phil Robinson, 16, one of the pupils who met Mr Cameron, said: "Anyone who hit a teacher or trashed a classroom would have been expelled."


Andrew Percy, a Conservative who organised the visit, confirmed Kingswood was the school involved and added: "It may be the incidents happened some time ago, but David's point is valid."

Quote from Andrew Percy: I just wish the press had reported David Cameron's words when he was asked what he thought of the pupils at Kingswood. "Fantastic" was his response and I have to agree, they did us proud.