positive international comparisons (TIMSS 2007) and lie if it thinks it can get away it (re PRUs). Its propaganda machine pushes academies and free schools while ignoring successful schools like the one Stephen Smith praises. Gove is following Goebbels in this respect: "If you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it" However, the rest of the quote is: "The lie can be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State." Contributors to this website are determined that the truth will come out: state schools are not "broken". Thank you, Stephen, for your story. I think the constant denigrating of a system for which the Government are themselves responsible is part of a strategy to soften us all up for their true agenda of effectively privatising the school system. That would of course be very unpalatable to the electorate -- but by the twin tactic of starving schools (and other public services) of cash, and at the same time repeatedly telling us how bad they are, they'll be well on the way to making it a self fulfilling prophecy, and being able to turn around and say --