Speaking at the North of England Education Conference on 6 January, Minister for Education and Employment David Blunkett said:

"If secondary schools ensure much higher standards for all pupils by age 14 it will open up room for further progress and more imaginative provision in the transition from school to post 16.

"Above all much greater diversity will become possible - workplace learning, a wide variety of languages (ancient and modern), the full range of the arts and sciences; early access to university courses; mentoring schemes to kindle aspirations and remove the barriers that stand in the way of educational success; summer schools both academic and practical, more international exchanges, and, through technology, a wider range of tailored programmes than ever before.

"And through diversity we will extend the horizons of many youngsters, in a way that in previous years, was only available to the privileged few."