Opinion: Tomlinson must be backed by resources

Of course, by the time it was published, a more appropriate subtitle might have been How working-class kids prepare themselves for unemployment.

The youth labour market was collapsing, industry was being restructured and those very jobs were disappearing. Qualifications became more important and the past 20 years have seen educational policy being concerned with raising levels of achievement and making alternative provision for those at risk of dropping out of learning prematurely.

The Tomlinson report on 14-19 learning is the latest stab at making the system work for young people via flexible pathways and more diverse but equal options, which include academic and vocational routes (see Analysis, p8). Heralded as the most radical agenda for change since the 1944 Education Act, its vision is commendable but, as ever, the devil's in the detail.