I agree with Gordon Brown that “we must do all we can to ensure children have mastered the basics by the end of primary school”.

So let him champion the thing that is totally certain to bring this about: making learning to read and write English more akin to learning other European languages - by improving the consistency of English spelling.

The notion that a rigorous testing regime is the best way to solve this problem is as daft as the belief that regular weighing is what helps people to lose or gain weight.

Masha Bell, Author of ‘Rules and Exceptions of English Spelling’, Wareham, Dorset.