Conservative conference: Tories to 'declare war' on low school standards

During his closing speech at the Conservative Party conference, David Cameron pledged to take action against falling standards in schools.

He cited the recent example of a child being given marks for writing a swear word in an exam and said things must change.

"An election would bring a declaration of war to those educational establishments clinging to the cruel philosophy that all must have prizes and the dreadful process of dumbing-down. Both must go."

Cameron repeated the party's pledge for extra academies and said it would fund 4,000 extra health visitors to help new parents. Cameron also returned to the Conservatives' theme of "broken Britain".  

"Some say our society is not broken," he said.  "I wonder what world they live in. Two million children brought up in houses where no-one works, some housing estates having a lower life expectancy than in the Gaza Strip, violence on our streets, children killing children, and 27 children murdered on London's streets this year."  

Cameron said that harsh punishment and more prisons would only address the symptoms and not the causes of why people offend, and called for an approach that puts the country back together "piece by piece".