Tristram Hunt MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, responding to reports published on Guardian online on Government plans for compulsory setting in schools, said:

“We need urgent assurances that Nicky Morgan’s plan will not place a cap on aspiration and confine some children to a second rate education. All children, in all classes, do best when they are supported and challenged to reach their full potential.

“Any measures must be backed by a clear body of evidence demonstrating a positive impact on school standards for all children.

“I believe that excellent heads and great teachers know better than Westminster politicians how to deliver the best schooling for all pupils.

“We thought there was political consensus on the importance of school autonomy.

“It is worrying to see an Education Secretary two months in the job thinking she knows best how every school should teach every subject.”