I was on holiday when I read about my resignation as headmaster of St Edmund's. 'Head quits over Labour policies' read the headline. It came as quite a surprise. I knew I had resigned, but didn't think anyone would be interested. Then the story was mentioned on breakfast TV. A national paper took up the tale. Questions were asked in the House, and on Radio Norfolk. I began to wonder whether my obscure act of self-immolation might conceivably be noticed by the government. 'A very brave decision,' I was told time and again. It seemed to me, as Margaret Thatcher used to say, that there was no alternative.The spat between Charles Clarke and the Local Government Association, representing the nation's local education authorities, is very childish.
