‘I want best state schools in world’ – Gove

Mr Gove was accused on Sunday of trying to “politicise” the schools inspectorate, after the surprise removal of its chairwoman and amid reports he was lining up an insurance magnate to step in.

Reports suggested Theodore Agnew, who worked with Mr Gove before the 2010 general election, was the favourite to replace Labour peer Baroness Morgan of Huyton as Ofsted’s chair.

Schools Minister David Laws, a Liberal Democrat, was said to be “furious” at the decision not to reappoint Lady Morgan and a source close to Mr Laws said the decision was “everything to do with Michael Gove’s desire to get his own people on board.”

Mr Gove is also under fire from teaching unions after unveiling plans for a return to traditional methods of classroom discipline, including ordering misbehaving pupils to pick up litter, weed the school playing field, or writing out hundreds of lines.

‘Best state schools’

On Monday he used a keynote speech to say that the boundaries between state and independent schools are being eroded by the government’s free schools and academies programmes = something he intends to continue.

“Instead of reinforcing the Berlin Wall between state and private, as the current Labour leadership appear to want, we should break it down,” he said. “Thanks to our reforms, private schools are opening their doors and their opportunities to more children than ever before.”

Mr Gove said that he wants to make British state schools “the best state schools in the world”.

Michael Gove's report card.

Maths: C - despite saying that schools are improving, Ofsted figures suggest that the number of schools deemed "inadequate" has increased during his tenure as education secretary – up to 145 from 126, whilst the number of schools judged to be "outstanding" has fallen.

English Language: A – he has used three-word alliterative phrases 721 times in debates, well above average amongst MPs.

History: D - his recent comments criticising the use of Blackadder to teach history earned him a rebuke from Tony Robinson, aka Baldrick, who said that Mr Gove had made a "silly mistake".

Drama: B – he played the school chaplain in 1995 family comedy film "A Feast at Midnight", which starred Christopher Lee.

He added: “State schools where the vast majority of pupils have the grades and the skills to apply to university, if they want to; where a state pupil being accepted to Oxbridge is not a cause for celebration, but a matter of course; where it is the norm for state pupils to enjoy brilliant extra-curricular activities like sports, orchestras, cadets, choir, drama, debating, the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, and more.

“All those things are par for the course in the private sector – why shouldn’t children in the state sector enjoy them? We know England’s private schools are the best independent schools in the world. Why shouldn’t our state schools be the best state schools in the world?

“My ambition for our education system is simple – when you visit a school in England standards are so high all round that you should not be able to tell whether it’s in the state sector or a fee paying independent.”

‘Dropped the ball’

Labour has criticised Mr Gove for his handling of the Ofsted leadership and for his plans over discipline.

Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt said: “Baroness Morgan has done an excellent job as Chair of Ofsted and it is with great regret that the secretary of state has chosen not to renew her tenure.

“She is a true champion of high standards in our school. The secretary of state should have stood up to Downing St and kept Baroness Morgan in post; this decision is completely lost on me.”

He also said: “Cameron and Gove have dropped the ball on discipline. Their decision to allow unqualified teachers into the classroom on a permanent basis means we have teachers who lack the training that is required to keep order. This is damaging standards in our schools. They should end this practice and commit to Labour’s pledge to ensure all teachers are qualified and have the training they need to control behaviour in the classroom.”

What does he believe?

Michael Gove has advocated a return to previous modes of education – such as rote learning and the study of pre-20th century classics.

In his first Conservative Party conference as education secretary he called for the study of authors and poets such as Austen, Dickens, Byron Keats and Hardy to be reinstated.

He also announced that the historian Simon Schama would advise the government on putting “our island history” back at the heart of the curriculum. Mr Schama later criticised Mr Gove’s curriculum at the 2013 Hay Literary Festival, calling it “insulting and offensive”.

Later in 2010, Mr Gove announced further reforms for schools – including the compulsory study of foreign languages until 16, and the introduction of targets in primary schools. A public outcry in December 2010 forced a U-turn on plans to cut funding for sports in schools.

Mr Gove clashed with unions in 2011 after announcing that 200 of the worst-performing primary schools would be turned into academies – something the NUT described as “breath-taking ignorance”.

Mr Gove also criticised Britain’s examinations system in 2011 – saying they did not encourage children to read. He also said there was an “ignorance of science” in the UK, and that pupils should study maths up until the age of 18.

He criticisms of exams appeared to be leading to a radical overhaul in 2012, when a leaked report showed Mr Gove was planning to scrap GCSEs in favour of the old O level system. These plans had not been discussed with the Conservative’s coalition partners, and were heavily criticised by teachers and unions – though praised by London Mayor Boris Johnson.

The criticisms of Mr Gove’s policies continued in 2013, with Mr Schama’s damning verdict on the government’s “pedantic and utopian” history curriculum. In March 2013 100 academics wrote to warns of the “dangers” of the curriculum. Mr Gove responded by calling the critics “Marxists”.

His plans for reforms to the primary level national curriculum received a response, via a letter to the Times signed by 200 people including Carol Ann Duffy and Michael Rosen, saying they would risk causing “enormous” harm to children’s education.