This week: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2

The annual release of the variously titled Call of Duty video games has become, for pupils and teachers alike, a calendar fixture on a par with birthdays, the end of term and even Christmas. Such is the hype that greets these “shoot ‘em up” games each year.

Black Ops 2, the ninth game in the Call of Duty series, is expected to become the highest selling game in history, beating the record set by the previous instalment, Modern Warfare 3. But while computer game bosses and supermarkets will be rubbing their hands with glee, parents, teachers and even teachers’ partners will be cursing the launch of the game earlier this week, which is partly set in 2025 during a second Cold War.

Be prepared for grumpier pupils than usual, who are even less attentive in class having spent the previous 16 hours glued to their screens without blinking. And forget about setting homework for the next six months.

Heads should be extra vigilant when staff call in sick. The “sniffles” preventing Mr Smith from coming in to school could easily be a cover for a marathon gaming session, involving anything from nuclear bombs to helicopter gunships.

So, for distracting the country’s pupils and their teachers, and for ruining any chance of conversation in the home, it is to the naughty step with you, Call of Duty.