MICHAEL HOWARD today promised to give people the same educational start in life he got as the child of a family of immigrants.

The Conservative leader told a press conference: "We didn't have any special privileges but we were lucky enough to live in a town with a first-class state school. Teachers were respected, we all learnt the basics, ambition, excellence and hard work were encouraged.

"It was the best start any child could have in life. Fifty years on I want everyone to have that quality of education. And my goodness we really do have a long way to go."

Disruptive

He said that if his party wins the May 5 election they would give head teachers more control over their schools, with the power to expel disruptive pupils.

The party is also promising to review the national curriculum, reducing paperwork for teachers, and to review GCSEs and A-levels.

He said he came from an ordinary family, his parents ran a clothes shop in Llanelli where he went to the local grammar school.

He said: "When I travel round the country, perhaps the most heartbreaking sight I see is the children who've dropped out of school, youngsters going off the rails, each of them a story of lost opportunity - but also a warning of the kind of country Britain will become if we don't change direction."

He later said: "It is important that people who make their home here learn the language of our nation."

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