THE heavens opened over York this morning, mirroring the gloom felt by many youngsters as they made their way back to school. For the youngest among them, it was their very first day. That prompts an uncomfortable but inescapable thought. By the time these children have reached the end of their school career, our education system may have changed beyond recognition.

For years now, schools have been buffeted around like a football in the playground. It is hard to remember a period of stability in our classrooms, when politicians were not piling new edicts and policy initiatives on already over-burdened teachers.

So it is no surprise that teachers are in alarmingly short supply. More than 4,000 vacancies were unfilled as the school year began. That will see more of our children taught by temporary staff or in larger class sizes. Hardly the best way to improve standards.

Already, a lack of maths teachers is damaging pupils' education. Academics at the University of London warned that if this is not addressed, we could create an innumerate generation.

How do our politicians respond? Not by improving the status and basic pay of teachers. Instead they continue to squabble over educational bureaucracy.

The Tories today announced that they would remove more schools from local education authority control. They would also give top universities massive endowments to free them from state interference. That, presumably, would lead to an increase in the gap between most universities and the elite few. Labour has already priced further education out of the reach of many; now the Tories want to widen the gulf between the academic haves and have-nots with this divisive idea.

Without well-educated school leavers, every university will struggle. Disturbingly, politicians have yet to notice that, however much they tinker with our education system, all their changes will be useless without good, experienced classroom teachers. For the sake of the new intake today, we hope they realise this sooner rather than later