Children’s educational aspirations risk being damaged by the cult of celebrity, teachers leaders have warned.
Teachers fear their pupils’ obsessions with footballers, pop stars and actors are affecting their progress in school, and limiting their career aspirations.
Some 60% of teachers said their pupils most aspired to be David Beckham, in a survey of teachers for the Association of Teachers and Lecturers.
More than a third said pupils wanted to be famous for the sake of being famous.
Some 32% of the 304 teachers quizzed said their pupils modelled themselves on heiress Paris Hilton.