James EC Nye (Letters, 28 October) has missed my point on language teaching, which is that once again our children are being used as guinea pigs in a politically driven initiative. To arrive in Year 7 and have to give up the language you liked, or to be told that your knowledge is wrong, or to find out that other pupils are far ahead of you, or to have to tread water while others catch up does not ease the transition to “big school”.

My point is that, if the politicians’ professed concern for languages were genuine, there would be both provision and progression.

Philip Delnon, Swanscombe, Kent.