Recent news that Mr Gove is proposing a “league table for pupils” in England (13 July) encapsulates perfectly everything that is wrong about Conservative thinking on education. It is a policy that serves the needs of an elite, select few at the expense of the vast majority. If 200,000 pupils are listed in order of their exam results, it would be very pleasing to hear you were in, say, the top 200 or even the top 500. However, what do I say to a pupil in my school who comes in at position 176,948? “Good try, Wayne - if you work hard you could get into the top 175,000 next year.” Demotivating and humiliating.

Ben Warren, headteacher, Summerhill School, Dudley.