I WAS blinking back the tears the other week when my youngest granddaughter posed for her graduation photographs, complete with mortarboard, gown and illuminated scroll.

It could be some time before she starts work though - she was only four in May!

How far will this Americanisation of English education go? 

For more of Hextol's ruminations see this week's Hextol column, available on line and in your Hexham Courant.