Roger Pope is right in his views on China (“The Chinese work ethic is a wise one”, Comment, 8 March) and the city of Shanghai’s Programme for International Student Assessment-accredited success in maths and science. Every culture has something to teach us and the respect for education in China owes much to the wisdom of Confucius. “Real knowledge is to know the extent of one’s ignorance.” (Are you listening, Michael Wilshaw?) But I wonder: why have the Chinese only won nine Nobel prizes (compared with 119 from the UK) and where are the Chinese Darwins, Newtons and Faradays?

Stan Labovitch, Secondary teacher, Windsor.