Prime Minister Visits University of Greenwich
The Prime Minister, the Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, visited the University of Greenwich this morning to make his first major speech on education policy.
He was joined on the Greenwich Campus by the Secretary of State for Children, Schools & Families, Ed Balls MP, at a special event hosted by Baroness Blackstone, Vice-Chancellor of the university. He outlined the government's plans to achieve a "world class" education system where young people from every background can prosper. After his lecture, the PM and the Secretary of State took questions from an invited audience of university staff, students and educationalists.
Gordon Brown began his speech by praising the University of Greenwich, which he said had been an innovator since its inception as Britain's second polytechnic and which continues to go from strength to strength. He especially commended the university's record on teacher training and its pioneering initiatives to encourage young people to enter, and succeed in, higher education. "There cannot be a more appropriate place for me to unveil our plans to unlock the potential of every child and every young person to make the most of every opportunity," he said.
Speaking after the event, Tessa Blackstone said: "It has been a huge honour for the university to host this important visit by the PM. It is a tribute to all the hard work of our staff, marking their achievements in teacher training and in widening participation, which were particular themes of today's speech."
ENDS
The main text of the PM's speech is online on the Number 10 web site: http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page13664.asp