I AM a child of the 1970s Comprehensive movement – well taught in some areas (incredibly so in sciences) but left to languish in the CSE set for maths and work out my own grammar and spelling in English, all in the name of self-expression and creative writing.

As a result, I thank heaven for spell checkers every week when I write my column and listen in amazement when my children talk about past participles, but my experiences have made me keen to get involved in education improvements whenever I can.

I spent four years in my first term as your MP serving as a governor for St John's School in Marlborough and the Wellington Academy in Tidworth, seeing first-hand the frustrations and the freedoms that Academy status could bring, and also the effort and commitment put in by teachers and staff aiming to get the best possible results for their pupils.

We are very lucky in the south west in that 85 per cent of our schools are rated good or outstanding, the second highest proportion in the UK (London comes first) and I vowed as part of my election commitments that I will do all I can personally to drive up the number of children taught in good and outstanding schools in the Devizes constituency.

However, despite the good news, I do share the concerns of many that for all the effort going in, 'the system' is letting certain groups of children down by not equipping them with the basic skills they needed to get jobs.

I was really shocked to learn that many children, often the hardest to teach, have been able to leave school without even a good grounding in core academic subjects like maths and English, let alone a qualification. That is why I welcomed the news this week that from September all pupils will study the EBacc at GCSE to ensure they get the crucial skills and qualifications they need to succeed in life. The English Baccalaureate (EBacc) will be awarded when students achieve A* to C in five core GCSE subjects including English, maths, science, humanities and languages – the courses that universities and employers value the most.

From September 2015 all pupils starting secondary school will study the EBacc when they reach their GCSEs. By encouraging schools to enrol pupils for GCSEs in these core academic subjects, and restoring rigour to our National Curriculum, we are raising standards and making GCSEs more ambitious, putting them on a par with the best in the world and preparing young people for life in modern Britain.