Just the other day I had coffee with a friend. We both taught together. She grew up in Australia, and I in Scotland. She asked me about my primary schools years. How was it for me. I told er that I was confident because I went to a village school, and everything was easy for me. 'So what changed?' she asked. 'I went to high school and discovered two things, intellectual competition, and marginalization.'

The intellectual competition exists. We have to deal with that. But for awareness that teachers looked out for students whose parents had influence (not that parents used it), made me realize that life can be very unfair.

Her experience on the other side of the planet was much the same. Early schooling a breeze. That builds confidence, but when she went to boarding school she felt the same divide.

Confidence is ripped so easily from children.