You could almost hear a whoop of delight from Hamilton House, the headquarters of the National Union of Teachers, as Gordon Brown announced his £36bn windfall last week to refurbish the nation’s schools over four years. The union is not noted for being close to the Government, but Steve Sinnott, the general secretary, described it as the best announcement Labour had made since coming to power in 1997.

Hilary’s advice

Chairing a Government quango gives rise to some predictable responses: “How can you stand the bureaucracy?”, “Talking-shop is it?”, “You’ll never achieve anything. It’s just a fig-leaf,” and so on.

Mary’s robe is blue, the angel has a fluffy white halo and the shepherds wear tea-towel headdresses. At St Mary’s Roman Catholic Primary School in Clapham, south London, they celebrate the traditional story of the Nativity three times over, once for each year grouping. And they do it with joy, faith and some very fine singing.

In the 15th century, Gutenberg’s press gave us science and the nation state, the Enlightenment and modern education. Can information and communications technology (ICT) do it again?

Tony Blair’s valedictory education speech last week epitomises his 10 years in charge. Heart in the right place, but going off in all directions.

This week’s research by Nottingham Trent University for the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the exams watchdog, shows that today’s students have become so ingenious at devising ways of cheating that drastic measures are required.

Hilary’s advice

The motto “ever to aspire” can mean different things in different schools. In an English grammar school in a leafy suburb, it would mean all pupils getting five top grade A* to C grade passes at GCSE - and going on to university.