Whatever former Education Secretary Ruth Kelly's opinion of our education system, the picture from south Essex is far from discouraging.

This year's GCSE tables offer few fireworks. But they do indicate steady progress and a system that is serving the aspirations of the next generation with growing confidence.

High-grade exam passes (A-C) make a respectable showing, but the emphasis has shifted this year to a rather different set of figures, those in the value-added table.

These monitor the improvement in students' performance, and are in many ways, a better measure of a school's energy and effectiveness than raw exam results.

Interestingly, in this category, Southend's star grammar schools emerge less well than many other schools, possibly because students at these prestigious schools have a shorter distance to travel in terms of motivation and accomplishment to start with.

If local results were typical of the country's schools as a whole, the Government would not find itself in such a defensive position over education.

Virtually feasible

Essex clerk Terry Turner's scheme to buy his own house is certainly original. He is selling virtual bricks on a website.

Terry says his motivation is simple - he can't stand sharing a bedroom with his brother any longer.

If his scheme fails, he could always try the same fundraising method on a less ambitious scale - inviting bids on a virtual curtain to divide the bedroom in two?