Letter: How to 'dump' A-level pupils

Sir: Another marginal rise has been shown in those who achieve five grades A-C or above at GCSE. Far more worrying is the bleak future of those who will leave school with no qualifications whatsoever. This cohort of pupils is rising at twice the rate of those who achieve five decent grades.

Until and unless league tables take account both of individual starting points and learning distance travelled by each pupil, they will remain discriminatory and hide the scale of failure within our education and training system.

The recent National Skills Audit, bravely commissioned by Gillian Shephard, confirms the urgency of raising the basic and general skills of all our pupils. Failure to do so will result in Britain's social and economic ruin as thousands of young people become reluctant burdens on the state, rather than making an active contribution to it.

ANNE WEINSTOCK

Chief Executive

Rathbone C I

Manchester