Dear Editor,

I feel compelled to respond to Jesse Norman’s column on achievement and Olympic success. He omits to mention the vast sums of lottery and tax payers money which were diverted to enable this to happen.

What a pity that his government has proved so reluctant to support the vast majority of our young people in the same way. Schools have been consistently underfunded as a matter of policy. Worse still, they have been straight-jacketed with a tick-box, exam-cramming culture and government-sponsored micro management which have debased the role of teacher.

We now have schools where head teachers and deputy heads have not actually taught for years, but focus on their ‘management’ whilst working teachers and their students are increasingly pressurised

Worse still, their focus on ‘core business’ – meaning English, Maths and Science is increasingly detrimental to subjects which might encourage creativity and vigorous independent thought: philosophy, law, drama, art and music are increasingly sidelined in the rush to satisfy effectively meaningless government targets.

In reality, we have created a system designed to make young people comply, rather than to think and to create.

Add to this the double trick of compelling young people to accumulate a vast bubble of debt to finance their higher education and our young people have been well-and-truly sold down the river.

Yes, Jesse, they certainly will need persistence to get through that lot!

Rob Lucas: ex-teacher

Ross-on-Wye