Extra school support

SIR – You report (February 11) that pupils at independent schools obtain a disproportionate number of special measures considerations, allowing them extra time in exams, compared with state schools.

The suggestion is that such schools are “gaming the system”. However, this view fails to consider the possibility that parents may choose to pay to send children who have special needs to independent schools precisely so that they will obtain the excellent support they require, which may not be available in the state sector. The extra exam time would therefore be something to which these children are fully entitled.

Tony Meier

Eastbourne, East Sussex

SIR – The regulations for applying for exam concessions are already strict: they are updated yearly and schools are subject to regular and specific inspection with the express intention of preventing sly schools or pushy parents from “gaming the system”.

The weight of evidence required from teachers is considerable, consisting not only of opinion but also of tangible proof in the form of tests and exam papers which support, or in some cases deny, the granting of exam concessions.

The reason why private schools have a higher proportion of pupils granted concessions is that parents choose to make enormous sacrifices to get the difficulties their children experience properly addressed. The state sector has neither the budget nor the time to attend to pupils whose difficulties, although they impede progress, are not severe enough to bring them to the top of the agenda.

Olivia Boon

Hereford