Over a period of 18 months, Davies researched for the Guardian a special series of stories investigating the condition of our state schools. They were published in three batches between September 1999 and July 2000, at lengths varying from 600 words to 7,000. The series attempted to go beneath the surface issues to expose the fundamentals - the undeclared but highly successful policy to kill off our comprehensive schools; the bogus analysis of school failure used by Ofsted; the fabrication of facts by Ofsted's chief inspector, Chris Woodhead; the gross dishonesty about funding by the Secretary of State; the link between the success of private schools and the failure of state schools; graphic stories about underfunding, about the lives of truants; an expose of how teachers have joined children in cheating to deliver the exam results which the government demands; some pointers to solutions, based on Dutch schools. The response was huge.

Nick Davies was awarded Reporter of the Year in 2000. He was also the first winner of the Martha Gellhorn Award for investigative reporting.

About the Author

Nick Davies writes investigative stories for the Guardian, and has been named Journalist of the Year, Reporter of the Year and Feature Writer of the Year in British press awards. Between July 2009 and July 2011, he wrote more than a hundred stories about crime in Rupert Murdoch's News of the World. He has written six books including White Lies and Dark Heart, and the bestselling Flat Earth News, exposing falsehood and propaganda in news media. Hack Attack is his latest book.

He has three children and lives in Sussex.

Book Information
ISBN 9780099422167
Author Nick Davies
Format Paperback
Page Count 208
Imprint Vintage
Publisher Vintage Publishing
Weight(grams) 150g
Dimensions(mm) 198mm * 129mm * 12mm