16 July 2003

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Education Shake Up

The former chief inspector of schools, Mike Tomlinson has outlined his plan to replace A Levels and GCSEs with an English version of the Baccalaureate taken in many European schools. It's designed to increase the very low number of students who currently stay at school until they are 19, and improve the quality of vocational education. But some are warning that increasing the breadth of education could sacrifice its depth.

We talked to the Education Minister David Miliband MP, who first came up with the idea of an English Baccalaureate in a paper he wrote before he became an MP, back in 1990.

Snow Calls for European Growth
We talked to the US Treasury Secretary John Snow who foresees the US economy gathering pace, growing by more than 4 percent next year. He calls upon the Euro-land economies to buck what he calls the "straitjacket" of the stability pact and do more to stimulate growth. But he's speaking just after the US government predicts its deficit will hit record levels.

Stephanie Flanders interpreted his analysis of the US and World economy.

Pressure on Bush
President George Bush is facing his own heat over the justification for the war in Iraq. The senior republican senator John McCain told us he's worried about the morale of the troops in Iraq, and says there should be an independent inquiry into whether the American people were misled.

Why the US Loves Tony
Tony Blair is on his way to Washington to be treated as a hero and friend. But what makes Americans on the right and left love the prime minister so much? The American born journalist Anne Applebaum came up with her own answers.

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