‘Education, education, education’ has become a government mantra. Politicians of every party see it as the key to economic growth and prosperity. Yet where is the hard evidence that more – or better – education really delivers the results?

In this controversial new book, Professor Alison Wolf examines the gap between the rhetoric and reality of British education today. Should we take any notice of governments’ cheer-leading for vocational education and training, she asks? Or instead take warning from the fiasco of National Vocational Qualifications, ostensibly created for business by business, paid for by the taxpayer and rejected wholesale by students? Expanding universities is a political objective that has taken on a life of its own. But should we care if, as a result, only one country – the USA – is left with any world-class institutions? And can long-term success really be built on a fixation with numerical targets, endless government initiatives and purely economic rewards?

Education is a multi-billion pound industry, in which far too much is decided by wishful thinking and received wisdom. Only by confronting awkward issues head-on, argues Wolf, can we develop the education we really want for our children and our future.