Do we really need to learn our times tables?

I AM disappointed the Government proposes to make learning times tables compulsory in schools (Mail). Mindless rote-learning kills interest and stifles thought. The initiative is backed by the Campaign for Real Education, which has also backed the enforcement of the soulless conformism of school uniforms.

R. TAGART, Haywards Heath, W. Sussex. WheN the siren went off during the war, my infant school class would sit in the darkness of the playground air raid shelter and recite the times tables over and over again. Sometimes it would be several hours before the all-clear sounded. No wonder the five to seven-year-olds’ were word perfect.

Mrs LESLEY SNAPE, Sheffield.

WHY should it take three years for pupils today to be taught multiplication tables? I learned them before I knew what they were, as the whole primary school sang them at every morning assembly. When we began maths lessons, it was assumed we knew our tables — and we did.

Professor IVAN REID, York. I LeARNeD the times tables by rote: it was boring and time-consuming. Only when I became an adult did I realise the benefits. When my daughter went to school in the eighties, she was not taught them. Lessons were based on problemsolving and creative thinking.

JANET ENTWISTLE, Chelmsford, Essex.

WHEN I was at primary school, at any moment my teacher could demand that I recite a multiplication table — sevens were my horror. However, this helped prepare me for the challenges of school and university exams. If you don’t have tests at school, how can we check children’s knowledge?

STJoHN CoX, Taunton, Somerset.