EDUCATION Secretary Michael Gove has been urged to publicly apologise after saying people can “smell the sense of defeatism” in some North East schools.

Mr Gove waded into a political row yesterday when he said there was a “real problem of ambition in certain traditional communities, like East Durham, which needs to change”.

Mr Gove has been criticised for being overly ideological since taking up his post as Education Secretary.

He has instituted a back-to-basics approach in exams and teaching methods.

Last night, politicians and head teachers lined up to criticise Mr Gove, saying none of them believed he had ever set foot inside an East Durham school. MP for Easington, Grahame Morris, said he believed Mr Gove’s attack on the area was “political” and had been prompted by an ongoing campaign over funding for a new school building.

He said: “Michael Gove’s comments are outrageous and an insult to every parent, teacher and child in East Durham who are striving to improve standards and grades.

“The only culture of low expectation that exists is within this Government. It has turned its back on the children of East Durham by pulling the funding for the new Seaham School of Technology.

“How would Gove know if there was a smell of defeatism? He has never been to a school in East Durham and all he can smell is his own prejudice against children from working class families.”

Phil Wilson, MP for Sedgefield, said East Durham’s schools had made significant progress.