Training pledge for ex-soldiers

The move would help improve order in the classroom, according to shadow schools secretary Michael Gove.

Soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan would also be allowed to attend university for free under the Tories' proposals.

The ideas are based on experience in the US, where the Troops to Teachers programme helps former soldiers make the transition to the classroom.

The so-called GI Bill, introduced after the Second World War, gave returning soldiers the chance to opportunity to attend college.

In a speech to the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham Mr Gove will say Britain should offer the same to those fighting abroad, promising that:

Bursaries of £9,000 would be available to 200 ex-service personnel who take post-graduate teacher training;

Anybody who has undertaken an active tour of duty would get their tuition fees paid on a first degree. He expects 1,000 ex-forces men and women to take up the offer.

The Tories also pledge to expand a charity, Skill Force, which trains ex-forces leaders to address schools in disadvantaged areas.

Mr Gove will say: "The young men and women serving in Afghanistan and Iraq are heroes of our time, their sacrifices in the cause of freedom make them the greatest of our generation, and they deserve the thanks of all of us."