I am not a teacher but do enjoy reading TES regularly. Over the years I have employed young people and have generally been pleased with their abilities. There is a lot of noise regarding good and bad schools and teachers, but when I have been disappointed with a young individual, I often find that they have come from parents who didn’t care much about their education.

Politicians hone in on teachers and systems and it was interesting to read Graham Brady’s view of education in Trafford. What he didn’t say was that the majority of these selective schools are in the south of the borough and suck in high volumes of high-ability pupils from areas outside Trafford. The success of these selective schools is based on their ability to get the best raw material and not, I would suggest, their ability to add value to the youngster coming into Year 7. Politicians would do better to concentrate on strengthening the responsibilities that parents have for the educational health of their children than to choose easy targets.

Mike Egerton, Cheshire.