A lesson learned

However, this misses the point. The novel approach adopted by the 25-year-old, who was named as the outstanding new teacher of the year at last night's industry "Oscars", has proved to be extremely effective in engaging with pupils.

This is the key point. One reason why school standards are unacceptably low is that too many lessons are not stimulating, and that children become easily bored.

This is not necessarily the fault of the teachers concerned – they are, invariably, weighed down by paperwork and have to operate within the close confines of the national curriculum. This does not always encourage flair and enthusiasm.

The challenge, at a time when education budgets are being contracted, is whether new teachers, like the inspirational Ms Steeples, will be given the flexibility to be so pro-active or whether they, too, will become bogged down by bureaucracy and the prospect of larger class sizes – one of the unspoken consequences of the spending review.