testimonials. It was with admiration that I read of their decision to donate the receipts from these occasions to charity.

I am about to complete 29 years in teaching. Throughout this time I have never had a day off through illness, injury, alcoholism or drug abuse. I have gone through, at a conservative estimate, 29 suits and numerous pairs of shoes without sponsorship from Adidas or Nike. I have attended on average five parents’ evenings per year, a total of 145, without appearance money.

Accepting the public view that we teachers only work five hours a day this makes a total of 29,000 hours at 200 days per year. In footballing terms this is the equivalent of 19,333 appearances. I accept the “crowds” that we “entertain” are not in the same league but we try to avoid enticing violence and refuse to remove our shirts when we experience value added on exam results’ day.

I cannot look forward to enhancement or early retirement with the teacher shortage...and, unlike in football we have not yet as a nation set up an academy for young teachers.

Perhaps someone would like to advise me how to go about getting a testimonial. I would be pleased to donate part of the proceeds to a worthy cause.

SJ Merrill 16 Old School Close Leyland Lancashire