"Its mandate, or at least the committee's interpretation of its mandate, requires it to perform little more than a proof-reading function, " Ms Crowe said.

BBC: Guernsey's Royal Court building

Most ominously, both Mr Gove and the Tories' leader, David Cameron, are fond of party-pleasing prescriptions, including policies for which proof of effectiveness is non-existent (school uniforms) or limited (insisting on synthetic phonics for teaching reading).

ECONOMIST: The Conservatives on education