They can and they do. All the time. Employers across the country will tell you graduates with good degrees write letters of application that are littered with spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. As chief inspector of schools, I spent hours correcting semi-literate letters and reports.

That was six years ago, and things have, if anything, got worse. Tony Blair promised us a world class education system. He believes 50% of 18 to 30-year-olds should go to university. They may be illiterate, but, nonetheless, they should go. Readers might like to ponder the errors in the e-mail you quote, and reflect on the reality of his aspirations.

Is it acceptable for a primary school teacher to advise a parent to exclude their child from sitting year 6 Sats as their academic English is not up to scratch?
Hannah Walker, Bristol

No it is not. The government, rightly, expects schools to enter all pupils for the Sat tests and parents do not have the legal right to choose whether or not their children are tested. This school appears to be more concerned with its league table position than the intellectual challenge it offers to its pupils.

My daughter attends a sixth form. The two local secondary schools are in partnership and until recently she shared subjects between the two. She was on the charity committee at one and organised a non-uniform day to raise funds for a local charity. One week before the event, the head said half the money would be taken to buy equipment for the PE department. My daughter was, along with many others, appalled and the chat that night among her friends on MySpace was not exactly complimentary. The school found out about her comments. I was summoned to the school and informed that the head of sixth form had taken it personally and was extremely angry. Later I was told my daughter was being excluded for the following two days. Are her chances of university compromised?
Name withheld

No, a two-day exclusion is not going to affect her application. You should, however, ask to see the head about the university reference the school will provide and you might like to exercise your legal right to access her file.

If your daughter has insulted the school then she has reacted emotionally and foolishly. On the other hand, I worry about the fact that we encourage students to think for themselves yet often find it difficult to accept their conclusions. Perhaps the school should show greater tolerance.

If you have a question for Chris Woodhead, write to him c/o The Sunday Times, 1 Pennington Street, London E98 1ST or e-mail him, with your name and address, at education-questions@sunday-times.co.uk