When Ruth Kelly, the Education Secretary, said recently that there should be "zero tolerance" of pupils' indiscipline, she was greeted with scepticism. These were fine words, but would anything happen in practice? Now, the National Union of Teachers - a group not always known for toeing the Department of Education's line - has taken the first tentative steps towards giving substance to these sentiments, and it deserves credit for doing so.

Ruth Kelly was jeered by head teachers yesterday and accused of patronising them during angry exchanges as she outlined the Government's plans for education at her first speech to a teaching union's annual conference as Secretary of State for Education.

Leaving school at this age did Julie Burchill, Richard Branson and Alan Sugar no harm at all. So why force a whole generation of eager young things to stay in class until 18?

Ruth Kelly's appointment to the Cabinet two months ago was one of the more extraordinary of the Blair era. One of the features of Tony Blair's management style has been his willingness to give responsibility to people who are shockingly young. Many of the people who worked in his private office in opposition were in their 20s and yet his judgement was sound: they did not make mistakes. He has been more cautious in Government, but, as a young prime minister, he now has six ministers in his Cabinet who are younger than him.

Education Secretary Ruth Kelly today pledged to keep A-levels and GCSEs, but said she would make exams harder.

From Labour darling to outcast, and now lads' mag sexpert with her own stage show, the fearlessly outspoken Mo Mowlam has retained her legion of fans. Except Tony Blair

Bright sixth-formers should start studying for university degrees while still at school, ministers will say in a White Paper later this month.

ALL THE Government's efforts to cut truancy rates in England's state schools have been to no avail, according to the National Audit Office. Despite an outlay of pounds 885m and threats to jail the parents of persistent truants, truancy levels are unchanged.

THERE IS no simple answer to the question of how schools should deal with disruptive pupils. In some instances, it is simply impossible to avoid excluding a pupil. In others, an accommodation can be reached. Much depends on the nature of the school. It is clear, however, that exclusion is still used too frequently because of pressure on schools exerted by the Department for Education's league tables - yet another unwelcome by-product of the Government's obsession with targets and tables.

Ruth Kelly, the Secretary of State for Education, will declare war on classroom pranksters and persistent attention-seekers in a speech on school discipline on Tuesday. She will urge schools to show "zero tolerance" even towards low-level classroom disruption in a speech to a north of England education conference.

In her first speech as Education Secretary, Ruth Kelly made clear that she intends to position herself as the parents' champion in education.