Scary places for parents, too, when they make their first visit to a gigantic secondary school. Here, stern-faced deputy heads march purposefully along endless corridors and besuited heads sit behind huge desks bigger than the average kitchen studying comuter print-outs and financial statements.

The scariest time we parents had was the first interview evening we attended. Ninety-eight teachers sat in lines in a huge hall, each behind a little desk, and each desk with two chairs facing for the trembling parents. The image of these 98 teachers will remain for ever.

David Thomas

Leeds