I am writing regarding Jim Young’s letter (‘Literacy results’, February 6).

The Daily Mail (February 5) has an education article mentioning an OECD report, pointing out that the poorest, most disadvantaged 10 per cent of Chinese pupils outperform the richest 20 per cent in the UK.

The OECD analysis debunks all the excuses our state system has used for decades concerning social background, family, poverty, and so on, exactly as I have been pointing out.

The message is that the country’s state education system is the most important factor, and ours in 1958 for poor kids was excellent, as I can personally testify.

We once had hours a day of infant literacy teaching, now it’s minutes.

Is Jim Young capable of bringing himself round to asking himself why the Reading Campaign is even necessary? And telling us via the Oxford Mail letters page what he thinks? He has a track record of looking the other way and not addressing any pertinent direct questions via this letters page.

S. Nicholson Campbell Road Oxford