Some 25 years ago, public school headmasters lived in fear of a Labour election victory because the party had pledged to abolish independent education. After ten years of Tony Blair, their successors must be praying that this Government is endlessly reelected. As we report today, the private education sector is living through its own “never had it so good” era. A survey by the Independent Schools Council confirms that there are record numbers of pupils attending these institutions, despite a fall in the overall numbers of school-age children and an annual increase in fees that consistently exceeds inflation. More than 7 per cent of all children are now in these schools, rising to an astonishing 23 per cent of all sixth-formers (in much of London and the South East, the proportions must be significantly higher). It is a depressing legacy for Mr Blair and Labour.

There are some mitigating factors. Rising levels of affluence have meant that more people can contemplate this expensive option, so it may be as much the consequence of the Chancellor’s record as the Prime Minister’s. The increased attraction of English as the language of the globalised world has boosted the numbers of children recruited from overseas as well. More schools are making a determined effort to fund bursaries for bright pupils from less wealthy backgrounds (which is welcome). And it is not surprising that so many parents are willing to make a substantial financial sacrifice when more than 92 per cent of those who attend private schools subsequently enter higher education.

But there are aspects of what is occurring which should disturb ministers. When asked why they had opted out, parents cited three factors: the smaller class sizes in the independent sector (the teacher:pupil ratio is less than 1:10), concerns about standards and discipline in state schools and relative performance in specific subjects, notably maths and, especially, modern languages.

Smaller class sizes were one of Labour’s original “five pledges” in 1997 and they have indeed been reduced since the Conservatives left office. Despite this, and a real increase in expenditure on schools of one third, the gap between public and private on this score is, if anything, widening. A lot of money has been devoted to enhancing standards and discipline but has not produced the results that middle-class parents demand.

The worst sin, though, has been the wholly self-inflicted mistake of making modern languages voluntary after the age of 14, a decision which sends the signal that the likes of French and German, Latin and even Mandarin, are not taken seriously by the maintained sector. It is not too late for that egregious error to be overturned.

Neither this nor anything else relating to education can now be done by this Prime Minister. He has created new forms of school – city academies and “trust schools” – which, it is to be hoped, will provide private education with better competition. He has, as the Independent Schools Council itself acknowledges approvingly, raised the profile of education as a social and political issue. He has not, however, convinced those who have the capacity to reach for their chequebook that it is unnecessary for them to pay for a truly top-quality education. Money remains, unfortunately, too large a factor in educational attainment in this country. It will fall to Gordon Brown to take up this challenge, which has to be done by raising standards in state schools, not placing obstacles in front of independent ones. What he thinks or will do remains, after ten years, a mystery.