

It’s not at all clear what can now be done. Men – having no sense of brotherhood to match the sororal feelings of women – are hardly likely to become primary school teachers because they feel they owe a duty to their sex. They are not going to enter the profession so long as it automatically brings them under the suspicion that they might be harbouring sexual feelings towards children. They are not going to train to become primary school teachers so long as that job would bring them less respect and social standing than running the dodgems at the fair. How likely is it that any government would launch a programme to improve the position of boys at school and the standing of male teachers to match the expensive STEM campaign – rightly approved by everybody – to get more girls into science, technology and industry? About as much chance as an audible announcement at our primary’s sports day.