Public lesson

Tony Blair is the first Prime Minister since the introduction of universal state education in Britain to use the service exclusively for his children. Purists can cavil at the selection procedures at the schools attended by his two elder sons and daughter. Now they can also seize triumphantly on his paying for private tuition for his elder sons – a way of purchasing educational advantage. But they cannot dispute the fact that all three children are at state schools.

On this occasion at least, Mr Blair must be acquitted of the charge of hypocrisy. It is the right of any parent, and within the means of many, to pay for extra coaching for exams. Far more than any prime minister before him, Mr Blair and his family share the educational experience of the vast majority of the population – including the realities of competition, both to get into the best schools and to pass the exams to get into the best universities. That can only be a good thing.