Letter: Education for one and all

MICHAEL McMAHON asserts that "selective education works". It is not clear how many secondary schools Mr McMahon has experienced but, as a former FE college principal with a large catchment area operating in the 1960s and 1970s, I was able to sample the output of a substantial number of secondary modern schools. It was our experience that many of these former pupils who had failed their local selection test had considerable under-developed potential and they had come to the college for a rescue operation. It was not rare for them to go on to university or complete an advanced technician training programme. We also helped our share of ex-grammar school misfits.

L K STREET

Nazeing, Essex