Pupils respond best to traditional teaching

SIR – Allison Pearson speaks sense (Features, February 3). In many schools, teaching standards are in decline because teachers don’t teach any more. They just seek to encourage “independent learning”.

Dividing classes into groups, handing out worksheets and trusting the pupils to reach well-developed, intelligent conclusions amid the noise does not usually lead to real understanding and knowledge of a subject. As an occasional diversion, this method may be fine; but done lesson after lesson, it just creates boredom.

Before I retired from the public school at which I was lucky enough to work, lecturers at training days would occasionally urge us teachers to be “facilitators” rather than “pedagogues”.

Most of us would nod politely and then return to our trusted ways, which the pupils nearly always preferred. When pupils undertook “independent learning”, this would take the form of reading, essay-writing and coursework.

The majority of these pupils seem to have done pretty well in life, and not suffered from my refusal to embrace modern teaching techniques.

Robin Nonhebel

Swanage, Dorset SIR – Allison Pearson perpetuates the potent myth that parents need to “fork out north of thirty grand” in order to send their children to independent schools.

Roughly 14 per cent of the 520,000 places in schools belonging to the Independent Schools Council cost this amount, which has come to be regarded as typical. It is in fact the average fee in boarding schools – of which Britain now has very few.

The vast majority of pupils in the independent sector are in day schools, where average fees are around £13,000. Most of these schools are small, teaching fewer than 350 pupils.

The image of independent schools as grand, expensive and elitist is out of date. Twenty-nine per cent of pupils in these schools are from a minority ethnic background, the same as in the state sector. Partnership schemes of all kinds are growing steadily; more than 700 are listed on the new Schools Together website, a joint venture between the state and independent sectors.

It is unsurprising that the Labour Party clings to the old myth. The rest of the country should discard it.

Lord Lexden General Secretary, Independent Schools Council, 1997-2004 London SW1