> My view is that the average Londoner would benefit more from having been taught the basics of programming at a young age than where to find the font choices in Word.

Yes, but what are the odds that a school that teaches where to find the font choices in Word as part of an English class wouldn't find something similarly bad to teach as "programming basics"?

Small tweaks don't make big changes. Instead, they just give said organization more opportunities to demonstrate its essential nature.