If your school has ever been the centre of a political or media storm you would be advised to watch tomorrow’s episode of cult satire The Thick of It from behind a cushion.

Word has it that Nicola Murray, the new Secretary of State for Social Affairs and Citizenship, faces a crisis after her daughter is threatened with exclusion and she has to go to see her head. To add insult to injury, the Opposition wants to leak the story about how she decided to send her daughter to a comprehensive at the last moment, under pressure from spin doctor Malcolm Tucker.

Put yourself in this head’s shoes, and parents’ evenings will seem like a picnic after this.

Review, page 46.