Katharine Birbalsingh may well have contributed to the closure of St Michael and All Angels CofE Academy (TES Magazine, March 11), but she has benefited us all by exposing the havoc caused by disruptive pupils and the near impossibility of permanently excluding them.

Every school has its share of the near unteachables, as featured in Jamie’s Dream School or BBC soap Waterloo Road, who consume an obscene amount of senior management’s time. In a misguided attempt to include a minority of miscreants, the majority of eager-to-learn children are neglected. This is the biggest single reason why many working-class pupils underachieve in our schools.

Stan Labovitch, Secondary teacher, Windsor.