I concur almost to the letter with Professor John White’s article. But while he says that “only an education minister with one tree short of an arboretum would impose a personal preference”, I suspect that the minister’s personal preference is actually shared by many “well educated” middle-class people.

The thinking seems to be: “I had an academic subject-based curriculum. I did well at it. I am successful. Therefore to be successful one needs an academic subject-based curriculum. Anyone else is a failure.” We are locked into a schooling system that started in 1870.

John Harrison, Co-author, Wot, No School?, East Sussex.