But this isn’t that cute little matchmaker, in fact it’s a natty acronym representing the four basic skills needed to survive in the information age.

Out goes reading, writing and ‘rithmetic and in comes C for comprehension - the ability to read text, obtain information from tables, diagrams and graphs and interpret images and sounds.

U for use - evaluating and applying information, including elements of numeracy.

P for presentation - providing information to others, individuals and groups, and machines.

And finally, ID for information devices and applications - the ability to select the appropriate infomation tools and functions.

The acronym was dreamt up by Alasdair Kemp from the Institution of Electrical Engineers who predicts radically different roles for teachers. He envisages lesson delivery and testing carried out mainly by machine and lesson preparation by a central agency.

Schools will survive, but as organisations that may not have dedicated buildings, he predicts.

The good news for future secondary pupils is that they may not even go to school, as they will be able to learn anywhere.

“To school - or not to school: information and communications technology and primary and secondary education in 2020” report can be read at: www.iee.org.ukPABITeduc