"If young people are to stay in education until 18, we need to find ways to keep them interested.

"At the moment too many children are turned off by a rigid curriculum and over-testing up to GCSE level. 

"We need to make education interesting - qualifications have to be regarded as worthwhile and likely to get them good jobs, and the distinction between vocational and academic qualifications must end."

Stakeholder Response: CMU

Pam Tatlow, chief executive of the CMU Universities Group, said: "We welcome the chancellor's commitment to investment in education and his challenge to the other political parties to match this.

"We also support the equality of opportunity to access higher education to which Gordon Brown aspires.

"This can only be achieved by bridging the investment gap and ensuring that those universities which have widening participation and access at the heart of their mission are fully funded.

"Social and educational disadvantage is not just resolved by investment in schools but also by funding life chances in higher education.

"The government is beginning to reverse two decades of under-funding but the UK stills spends just 1.1 per cent of national income on higher education compared to 2.6 per cent in the US and an EU average of 1.2 per cent."

Stakeholder Response: Amicus

Roger Jeary, Director of Research Amicus said:

"This was a unifying speech and one which will reconnect the government with the wider party.

"He captured the mood of the movement and demonstrated that he understands the insecurities and the concerns that people are facing, on jobs, affordable housing, the health service and pensions.

"He said that that he was listening and this can only be a good thing."

Stakeholder Response: NUT

Steve Sinnott General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, Europe’s largest teaching union said:

"Gordon Brown is to be congratulated for stating that his mission is to make this country the world’s number one in education.

"His repeated commitment to increase the spending on state school pupils at the 2006 spending levels of private schools is precisely the boost schools need.

"By targeting the invidious gap between state and private school spending he has shown that he understands the needs of children. It is exactly the kind of vision we want from this government

"Gordon Brown has said that the increases in education spending will happen step by step. The NUT is committed to measuring this and will be publishing yearly the Gordon Brown index."