Belated sense form Cameron

In a refreshingly honest admission, UK Tory leader David Cameron has stated that he supports parents who pretend to be Christians so as to get their children into faith-based schools, arguing such parents are only doing what they think is best for their children.

"I don't blame anyone who tries to get their children into a good school," he said.

Recently, the Conservative leader has attracted criticism from his fellow Conservatives for opposing the building of more grammar schools.

In New Zealand faith-based schools are also becoming more popular, with increasing numbers of non-religious parents perceiving Catholic schools as better at upholding traditional values and academic standards.

On Radio Live, talkshow host Michael Laws, who worked as a education policy advisor from 1985-91, pointed out that in the 1960s and 1970s, many of the country's Catholic schools were in serious financial difficulty, with the government having to step in and fund teachers salaries and learning materials.

Admittedly, the better performance of religious schools may be partly due to their ability to cherry-pick students from public schools, but it's also likely the decline in public sector education can at least partly be attributed to such factors as political correctness and declining standards of discipline.