Readers' letters - July 17

Environment plays a huge role in academic success

If all the children that entered a school were identical, like bars of steel going into a factory, then Hugh Rogers would have grounds for criticising the “noble” teachers who “shift the blame on to the kids” (WP Letters, July 11)

Unfortunately the children’s abilities and temperaments are as different as their appearances.

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As well as genetic differences, the environment in which the children are raised plays a huge role in their academic success.

To take but one extreme example, how does Mr Rogers think that the children living in temporary accommodation after witnessing the tragic events of Grenfell Tower will be coping in school right now?

How long will those emotional scars hinder their progress in school?

Children all over the country have their own traumatic experiences and teachers have to deal with fallout from them as well as teaching them reading, writing and arithmetic.

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These are just some of the reasons why four out of ten children do not reach the benchmarks.

John G Davies

Address supplied

A difference

of opinion

There have been letters about “the few and the many”, increasing tax and promoting equality by governmental policy.

As I read each of these, I am reminded of a conversation with an American which must

have been 60 years ago

now.

But I have never forgotten his words, which went like this:

“You Brits are so different from us Americans.

“A shimmering Rolls Royce comes round the corner of a poor housing area in England where two lowly-paid men are talking at their garden gates.

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“One says to the other: ‘We must find a way of getting that off him.’

“A shimmering Cadillac comes round the corner of a poor housing area in the States where two lowly-paid men are talking at their garden gates.

“One says to the other: ‘I am going to have one like that one day.’”

Neil Inkley

Address supplied

Statistics are concerning

The population of the UK has moved closer to overtaking France. Official projections have also suggested that the country will surpass the populations of both France and Germany by 2050.

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This is a hugely concerning statistic, and action surely has to be taken sooner rather than later to restrict this growth. The land area of France is well over twice the size of the UK, and Germany is significantly larger as well.

Both these countries could cope much more easily with population growth, but we cannot.

Bob Watson

Address supplied

Music scene

has declined

Re: This is the age you’re officially ‘too old’ to go to a nightclub. This is down to the scene or lack of. I feel sorry for this generation never having a good night out with proper dance music.

King Street is not a night out and there is nothing in Wigan that comes close. I have DJ’ed the width of England and the last scene I was involved in was North East. When I moved back to Wigan 12 years ago, I was astounded at the decline of the music scene. It is awful.

John Debaptist Kilmartin

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