The schools secretary wants combined cadet forces, an evocative symbol of the old-fashioned world of private schools, to spread to the state sector. Ed Balls said: "We would like to find ways in which we could have more combined cadet forces in state schools [by] perhaps working with independent schools."

The proposal is likely to inflame teaching unions. The National Union of Teachers passed a motion this week to "support teachers and schools in opposing Ministry of Defence recruitment activities that are based upon misleading propaganda". David Turner