The European Survey of Language Competences found last week that English pupils are among the worst in Europe at foreign languages.
 
For England, an international trading nation, to lie at the bottom of a league of language competence is economically and socially dangerous.
 
Some universities do not know enough about the IB Diploma and make offers to candidates which are unrealistically high. They don't understand that it is an exam which encourages breadth and that the candidates have had to do a great deal more work for it.