The pound;36 billion capital spending on schools had been allocated in March’s budget, or before, but the Chancellor pulled off the oldest spin in the book with aplomb - and on a grand scale.

Gordon Brown, the prime minister-in-waiting, made the front page of most national daily papers with his “pledge” of “new spending” on schools.

According to the Evening Standard and Daily Express, it was “a pound;36bn spree”. But, as The TES pointed out, the four-year plans were not new.

The only significant changes were pound;130million in direct payments to schools, allowing heads to spend the money where they believe it is most needed.

Analysis from the Institute for Fiscal Studies backed us up: the growth in capital spending on schools will actually be two-thirds lower over the next four years (4.3 per cent a year) than it has been in the past decade (15.9 per cent a year).