Do grammar schools give a leg-up to poor pupils?

LIKE Alan Smith (Letters), I went to a grammar school from a workingclass background, but left with just a C grade in technical drawing. I had part-time jobs at weekends and in the holidays, but still couldn’t afford to go on school trips. Useless at team sports, I was written off by my teachers. I thought of myself as a failure until, in my 20s, I went to the Open University and got a BA, an MA and an advanced diploma in education. I became a primary school head, taught at university and wrote five academic books. Grammar school failed me, and I have been trying to prove it wrong ever since.

R. BENNETT, Tarporley, Cheshire.

I HAD the chance to take the 11-plus, but declined and didn’t understand my blunder for years. I studied for an MSC at 50 and became a qualified financial adviser at 58. Just because I left school with nowt but still succeeded doesn’t mean this working-class lad couldn’t have done it sooner via the grammar school route.

PHILIP CLARK, Chesham, Bucks.

OF 35 who took the 11-plus in my class, eight passed. The rest were consigned to the local secondary modern schools. When my father asked my teacher why I’d failed, his response was: ‘She is not grammar school material.’ The school I was intended for had a bad reputation, so my parents scraped and took on extra work to send me to a private convent school. I thrived and went on to a successful teaching career. I am not against grammar schools, but feel all children should get the chance to attend schools that have good resources and, most importantly, high aspirations for their pupils.

ANN CHRISFIELD, Brighton.