Jim Knight’s memory seems to be failing him. In his diatribe against Conservative education policy, “The Tories still stand for privilege” (TES, October 24) he mocked the “Swedish model of schools reform” proposed by Michael Gove. Yet in the 2005 White Paper “Higher Standards, Better Schools for All”, which led to the 2006 Education Act, his own government noted that: “There is increasing international evidence that school choice systems can maintain high levels of equity and improve standards. Swedish parents can choose an alternative school to their local one, including a diverse range of state-funded independent schools.” It is a shame that, now Lord Adonis has gone, the department has been so quick to dump its commitment to supporting parental choice in favour of the derided National Challenge.

Sam Freedman Head of the education unit, Policy Exchange, London.