Britain is not the only place where there is Orwellian talk of pupil databases and spotting potential criminals in nurseries.
Several secondary schools in France have received official-looking circulars telling them they are to be “laboratory lycees” for a computerised system of pupil supervision called Scolaris.
The letters say that Scolaris will involve CCTV, biometric identity cards for pupils, and will link schools with juvenile remand centres. A sinister-sounding “serenity committee” will bring together school staff and on-site police forces to head off crime, monitor discipline, instil citizenship and gather information on children from illegal immigrant families.
Luckily, it is a sophisticated hoax. Any bets on how long it might remain a hoax, on either side of the channel?