Sir Cyril Taylor berated The TES for comparing CTCs’ exam results with the national average rather than those of neighbouring comprehensives (TES, December 2). He might be interested in our results - a neighbouring comprehensive to Djanogly CTC in Nottingham. Thirty per cent of our pupils achieved five or more grade A to Cs compared to the CTC’s 16 per cent.
When the college opened, we were the school that suffered most. We lost one third of our intake that year and had to reduce staffing and resources. The pupils we lost to the CTC were by and large of middle ability but with supportive parents - the pupils we expect to achieve C and D grades. Despite this, and despite larger classes, less equipment and a shorter working week, we achieved almost double their percentage for higher grade passes.
This shows that in Nottingham money would have been better spent on existing comprehensives than on an expensive experiment.
JOHN CHATER, headteacher Haywood School
Nottingham
