We need more variety in education

Congratulations to all those who obtained superb results at A Level and GCSEs this year, and to the schools with such high pass rates ( GCSE pupils in Dubai post record grades, August 26).

Let’s not forget, however, that schools in this country operate on an exclusive basis – they exclude children who don’t reach their high standards. While the education here is excellent, it is not for everyone.

Our daughter left the UAE after GCSEs to pursue a Cache Diploma in the UK, and is now entering her third year at university in the UK studying criminal investigation with psychology.

It is doubtful that she would have achieved this if she had been forced to follow the A Level or IB curriculum offered in the UAE. Our son achieved results at A level adequate to gain a place at his chosen university in Australia, but he too would have achieved so much more if he had been able to study subjects other than the “standard” ones offered. What the UAE needs is more variety in education – not more pressure and heartache for those families resident here with children who are not so academically blessed, and thus forced to leave when their children fail to reach the exacting standards required. Caroline T, Dubai

As the summer vacation ends, school bells will chime again. I am also preparing myself to encounter tensed parents rushing from one shop to another to buy uniforms and stationery for their children. I wonder why they keep these things for the last moment.

It was great not to see school buses in Dubai for sometime. How quickly time flies by. But to some extent it will be good to see the streets busy and the city come back to life. Mathew Litty, Dubai