Quotes by Shirley Williams

I think it is really terrifying that we are narrowing down to a mechanistic assessment of children by how many pass exams... if standards meant improving right across the board, character, originality, interests, then I wouldn't mind so much. But it doesn't. It always boils down to the same thing, how will we pass exams.

I was pushing the baccalaureate back in the days when I was education secretary. It always takes everybody forever in education. We were saying that A-levels were too narrow back then as well.

If the Labour party goes back to reasserting its socialist and democratic beliefs, that's where I belong.

We have run out of creativity for children and teachers alike in the name of pushing up standards.

We have to say now we think the character of the party has changed so far it will take something very exceptional, something really out of the ordinary line to make us be convinced there's a chance of winning back the party.

We really shouldn't be running education like a supermarket where you compare prices.