Education has betrayed its promises to deliver upward social mobility and a brighter future. Young people study harder but learn less, running up a down-escalator of devalued qualifications to become overqualified but underemployed, unable to move forward with their lives. From primary to post-graduate schools funny phonics through endless testing to phoney apprenticeships and the world s most costly university fees Patrick Ainley explains how English education is now driven by the economy and politics, dumbing down rather than wising up . Addressed to teachers and students at all levels of learning, it concludes by suggesting how schools, colleges and universities can begin to contribute towards a more meaningful and productive society.