“Class effect prevents England from joining world’s best educators” (TES, August 8). Language skills enable learning, through listening, reading, writing and cognition. I suspect such skill levels are linked to educational success and will be higher and developed earlier within the higher socio-economic groups. English being an opaque language, socio- economic levels would have more influence on achievement in England than in Finland where the language is transparent and easily accessed. We should compare success rates with other countries labouring to teach through the complicated English language, rather than Finland.

Rachel Gallacher Bramhall, Stockport, Cheshire.