This is a report of a study by Edinburgh University that found that the 'successes' in academy schools were largely down to pupils being encouraged to take easier subkects. Of course, that's not the whole story, even PwC, in their study for the government, concede that some of the improvement is down to academies having to educate fewer 'problem pupils'.

"But Terry Wrigley, a senior lecturer at Edinburgh University, warns in his study that there has been a 'serious erosion' of traditional subjects as children are enrolled on so-called soft courses to inflate test scores.

His report says there has been a huge growth in pupils taking GNVQs, which can be worth up to four good GCSEs, despite concerns by employers that they are easier to pass than other courses. There has also been a drop in the number of teenagers studying languages, history and geography, it is claimed.

'By the standards of European and other competitor countries, these pupils are poorly educated,' the report says."