Last week I nearly failed the 11-plus by proxy

In the second of his new series, Will Gore’s failure to read an email properly leaves his daughter aghast

These were testing times in the Gore household (Getty/iStock)

Education, education, education. Tony Blair got its importance just right in his famous speech in 1996; but as far as this year goes, I may have had my fill.

The months of full lockdown, with both kids at home, were unremittingly awful. My wife and I, juggling jobs with home-schooling, found our inner primary teachers so wanting that I half expected Ofsted to turn up for an inspection. Daily tasks emailed from our children’s real teachers were done with sluggish enthusiasm and at a snail’s pace.

My son’s return to school for a couple of days a week in June brought significant relief for everyone. And since September, we have been in a perpetual sense of apprehension over the potential for a coronavirus outbreak to bring classes to an end once again. So far though, so good.