Michael Gove, Education Secretary, told the Conservative Party conference in Manchester yesterday that England had failed to “keep pace with the world's best education systems.”

Mr Gove continued to list evidence to support his claims and went on to explain that England has fallen behind in international comparison tables - from 4th to 14th for science, from 7th to 17th for literacy and from 8th to 24th for mathematics.

He spoke of a visit to China where he was shown examples of children’s work. "On the other side of the globe” he said, “ there are 15, 16 and 17 year old children educated so well they can hold their own with the world's graduates. If anyone asks why our education system needs to change, remember that fact."

“Every single nation knows if they are not at the top of the education tree... their countries will fall further and further back in the global race for prosperity."

“Our children will never outstrip the global competition unless we know our exams can compete with the best in the world.”

The Education Secretary claimed that the gulf between rich and poor pupils in England continuing into higher education is a “tragedy”, and could jeopardise the country's economic future.

"The big divide in education in England is not between us and other nations” he explained, “the really big divide in education in England is between rich and poor.”

"There are five schools that serve some of the richest children in England that get more children into Oxford and Cambridge than 2,000 of the schools that serve our poorest young people.”

"From an economic point of view, it's an act of self-harm to leave so many talented young people from poorer backgrounds in a position where they cannot use their talents."