There is usually radio silence over at the Pearson-owned FT whenever Pearson-owned Edexcel are in the news, so Guido was surprised to see the paper wade into the debate on exam boards this morning. They argue: “Mr Gove’s plan to approve just one exam board for each subject…is a welcome step forward. Abolishing competition need not lead to falling standards if the government sets the bar high enough.” According to FT education correspondent Chris Cook, this was a rare sign of editorial independence:

The FT supports the "one exam board per subject" measure: http://t.co/8ZxlV2Qz That's editorial independence, for you.

— Chris Cook (@xtophercook) June 22, 2012

However, he added one crucial caveat:

(I say that: the big exam boards might do rather well out of enforced monopoly)

— Chris Cook (@xtophercook) June 22, 2012

Cook went on to admit that the move “might not be as bad for Edexcel as many people suspect“. Guido can’t imagine why he would back abolishing the competition…