Give pupils the chance to learn about farming

SIR – The idea of including agriculture in the GCSE school curriculum – suggested by Adam Henson and Mark Hedges, and expounded by Clive Aslet (Features, September 14) – deserves serious consideration.

A subject that deals with the basics of food production is relevant to all of us – and is surely as important as a number of other subjects taught today.

Increasing urbanisation over recent centuries has led to a deepening dichotomy between town and country, as well as widespread ignorance about the working of the land.

Teaching about farming, and encouraging appreciation of nature, could help foster greater respect for the countryside among town-dwellers. It would also bring a breath of fresh air into schools. Helen Harris

Tavistock, Devon

SIR – Back in the early Sixties, I sat and passed an O-level in Agricultural Science, set by the Cambridge University examining board – as did many of my fellow students who were sons of Norfolk farmers.

While I never practised farming, what I learnt stood me in good stead for gardening, as well as instilling a love of the countryside. Michael Lawrie

Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire

SIR – I read Mr Aslet’s article with a sense of sadness and irony.

In the Forties and Fifties, my father was the headmaster of a small co-educational grammar school – which is sadly no longer with us – in Gloucestershire.

With, I believe, the Oxford examinations board, he developed a syllabus for Agricultural Science, and it was taught at the school throughout his time there.

He also gave a weekly talk on the BBC schools programme: “The Practice and Science of Gardening by H Alan Peacock”. He used to write five or six weeks’ worth of scripts and then go down to Bristol to record them.

Having talked to those who did that Agricultural Science School Certificate or O-level, and listened to those broadcasts, it is clear that the objectives suggested by Mr Aslet were achieved in spades. Nigel Peacock

Llanbedr-y-cennin, Conwy