I am a GCSE student and would like to dispute that achieving 10 As is "easy". In addition, I would like to question whether league tables are "accurate" in any way at all; they do not take into account all of the most important elements of the strengths and weaknesses of a school. Can parents rely upon a quantified league of results which is calculated using varying methods and cannot possibly give any indication of how a school would suit their child? Name and address withheld

Parents sending their children to state schools divide into three groups: those who value education but cannot afford to go private; those who value education and can afford to go private, but disagree in principle; and those who don’t really care or are not sufficiently well educated to know the importance. Well the problem with league tables is that they cause a migration of children from the first two groups from schools that are ‘underachieving’ to those that are ‘overachieving’. However, since these children are likely to do better in public examinations – because they come from families that value education – the disparity between good and bad schools becomes reinforced. Hence, we are into a self-fulfilling prophesy where good schools remain good because they attract the right children and bad schools remain bad because they don’t. This cannot be right since many very bright children will not have the opportunity to excel because of poor decisions made by their parents. This is a waste of the country’s natural resource. The only answer is to reintroduce selection on the basis of academic/intellectual ability so that future potential Einsteins don’t slip through the education net. Paul Pickering, Camberley

How did anyone get educated before the present age? I finished school in 1951, yet still manage to write tolerably well. How was that possible based on teaching practice of 55 years ago, bearing in mind my education actually started in 1941 - the middle ages! I still support the idea of grammar schools, which are about to be reestablished by Labour under a different name - mainly because our prosperity depends on well-educated people, but also because I would like to see clever children from poor families given a chance to excel. It also seems strange to me that I would not be allowed to teach in England in spite of having a science degree. I don't mind, but wonder if we should exclude such people from teaching. Brian Lewis, Manila, Philippines

My daughter went to a school that was at or near the bottom of the league tables. She went on to get her GCSEs followed by her A levels and is now in her last year at Cardiff University studying sociology. So yes, the league tables are unfair and discriminate towards the school concerned. In the years she was at Trinity school she was professionally taught and got good support all the way – full marks to those teachers for helping her achieve such levels. The trouble is parents who wish the best for their child would look at that school, notice where they are on the league tables and take their child to another school. This then creates bias towards the school and its teaching staff. What sort of incentive is that? The Government seems to be in some sort of confusion loop. On the one hand they are encouraging people to use such schools and at the same time deriding those schools. It makes you wonder if, like Worzel Gummidge, Blair has many heads. God help kids and parents today. As if they haven’t got enough confusion in their lives. Glenn Renshaw, Newbury

I can't see what's wrong with selection. There was plenty wrong with the old 11-plus, but that was a very blunt instrument. I like the specialist schools, but they should be allowed to select more pupils who enjoy their specialism. If we had specialist schools for crafts and trades, tourism, catering, etc, we would have a wide enough range (with the ones we already have) that almost no one need be left out. We also need to widen the availability of schools to everyone by throwing open the catchment areas, maybe to the whole LEA. Liz Read, Bristol

When are employers going to stop whingeing on endlessly about supposedly worthless GCSEs, notably in English and mathematics? Acquiring proficiency in one’s own language involves so many disparate skills: there are the powers of imagination needed to conceive something that is worth saying. Then there are the skills in choosing the best words in which to convey those ideas, and assembling them in a grammatically-correct and readable presentation. Pity, then, the examiner, charged with the task of testing the many facets that underpin what we call facility with a pen. But if, as an employer, I wished merely to find out whether a candidate was basically competent in his or her language, the last thing I would do is take their GCSE grade at face value, reflecting as it does so many inputs. I would simply hand them a pen and a written piece of mangled English (not difficult to find in this age of the internet) and ask them to rewrite it with a time limit. If the post required a high level of verbal communication skills, one could do worse than ask the question, allegedly a favourite in bygone days for those aspiring to Eton entrance: “Explain to me please how you think a corkscrew works?” Where numeracy is concerned, there’s at least one employer (B&Q) I know of that gives all would-be employees a test of aptitude in basic arithmetic. Other employers might usefully follow suit. To use one of their favoured buzz-words, they should try being "proactive". Colin Berry, Antibes, France

The league tables are just another stupid, meaningless PR exercise. What should be required of all schools is that their pupils can read and write to a high standard; that they are able to add up, subtract, multiply and divide without the aid of a calculator; that they have a reasonable grasp of the geography of the land in which they live and a grasp of the history, too; at least one foreign language, and an understanding of peoples and cultures of the world. Then you can start to add in GCSEs, A levels, whatever. The era of one-size-fits all should definitely be over. Perhaps they should adopt the Army slogan, "Be all that you can be". While they're at it, give the schools back to the teachers, stop teaching sex to impressionable youngsters and stop banging on about rights. Rights mean responsibilities too. Sarah Marquis, London

I find it outrageous that GCSE English and maths scores do not currently have to be included in the league tables. An A*-C grade in English and maths is a prerequisite for the majority of jobs and admission into any form of further education. If a school cannot get the majority of its pupils these grades then it is failing at the most basic level. For the Government to try to cover this up is nothing short of scandalous. Darla Danya, London

I am amazed, given that exam results have been edging ever upwards since New Labour came to power, that they are so keen on reforming the education system. If it ain't broke, Tony, don't fix it. What? It's broke? Jonathan Jones, London

I don't think that there is anything wrong with having league tables, but, yes, they are misleading. They don't specify which subjects students do better or worse in, so a school higher in the league tables may have gained its position by entering students in for exams in softer subjects, while those focusing on the fundamental subjects such as English and maths are at a disadvantage because its is harder to achieve top grades in those subjects. I did my GCSEs three years ago, and in my school languages, for example, were a guaranteed A grade, while everyone found English and maths the most challenging. I know a school in my local area whose rating was greatly bumped up by the Polish children taking the Polish A level, and of course achieving top grades. I think league tables should therefore include sub-categories of exam results, ie, exam results for maths and science, English language and literature, arts, languages, etc, giving parents a better indication of the level of teaching of particular subjects at the school. Ola Marki, Paris

If the weatherman tells me that statistically, we have more fine days than rainy days but every time I go out, it seems I need an umbrella, I get suspicious. Generally, our education system is a mess. Employers know this, parents know this and, believe it or not, the Government know this. But, it is an enormous problem to sort out. Much easier to come up with a solution which looks OK, might do the job and costs considerably less. By the time everyone realises that it wasn't OK, didn't do the job and cost quite a bit, people will have moved on and a fresh solution can be suggested, just as ineffective and inappropriate. That is what has been happening for some considerable time. League tables, city academies and Ruth Kelly are all examples of this failure; why is anyone surprised? Keith Downer, London

The purpose of examinations is to provide a target for pupils, a measure of achievement and to discriminate between pupils in terms of ability. GCSEs achieve none of these things as it is too easy for those at the top of the range and too difficult for those at the bottom - hence ten easy A*s each for selective schools and nothing at all at the other end. I am sorry to say that the 30-year effort to produce a single exam for all has not been achieved and probably never will. Name and address withheld

League tables or any other type of tables are similar to advertising, in that they show the producer of tables in good light. What they are showing is accurate and cannot be contested but is not exactly what the critics want. The Department for Education should insist on English and mathematics plus three other subjects to be included, if that is what is required. Let us not blame the tables. Vinay Mehra, Purley, Surrey

There is so much more to choosing a school than league tables alone, and a school with brilliant results isn't necessarily the best school for a particular child. We shouldn't forget, though, that the National Curriculum and league tables were brought in as a response to plummeting standards in schools. The 30-something generation were largely cheated of an education - we can't afford to let that happen again. Liz Read, Bristol

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