I had a really interesting visit to Blackpool Sixth Form College yesterday. The discussion with the Principal Felicity Greaves was wide-ranging – and it merely served to underline the importance in Blackpool of building up a culture where learning and education are valued. Looking at last week’s GCSE results in the town, there are still far, far too many children failing to get the 5 good GCSEs including maths and English. We’re now 139th out of 150 local education authorities, which is not good enough on anyone’s assessment.

Blackpool Sixth shows one way ahead though. They have built good partnerships with local schools to encourage pupils whose parents did not go on to further and higher education to consider that option, and to develop the confidence that they can succeed. Once there, they identify the ‘gifted and talented’ and work with them to ensure they can maximise their chance of success when applying to university – this means new courses such as ‘critical thinking’ and the like.

Their record on the sciences is impressively – especially economics. At a time when these subjects are becoming less popular, they are going from strength to strength. They also have very impressive music and arts facilities too, and I look forward to attending their end-of-term concerts.

Education matters in Blackpool, even though it doesn’t attract tourists. Regenerating this town is about more than rebuilding a tourist industry, it is about making all of Blackpool a pleasant and appealing place to live. Improving the education system, and creating a better skilled workforce are not optional extras. They are essentials.

Oh – and what does Gordon Brown mean when he says that Peter Hain’s fate is ‘out of his hands’? I thought the PM decided who sat in his cabinet. Will the next reshuffle be conducted along the lines of Strictly Come Dancing. Gordon just underlines the fact he is a ditherer and a ducker of the hard decisions.