Sir – In a letter from me which you were good enough to publish on January 5, it was pointed out that the ‘floor standard’ figures for Key Stage 2 2011 for St Nicholas School, Old Marston, are and were wrong because they include pupils from the Autism Resource Base who are not SATS-assessed, yet St Nicholas is again included in a list of city primaries which “have consistently failed to meet ‘floor standards’ for Key Stage 2 tests taken at the end of year six”.

As set out to St Nicholas parents by headteacher, Rachel Crouch, in January and available online, St Nicholas has for pupils subjected to SATS assessment never failed to meet ‘floor standards’, a reality which must be familiar to councillor Melinda Tilley and her education officers at County Hall.

St Nicholas is a remarkable school, not least because it is inclusive of all its pupils, values each as vital individuals within a vibrant school community, under an exceptionally gifted and enlightened head and her highly committed staff. My wife and I are St Nick’s parents and have been since 1999.

As for councillor Tilley’s regal proclamation on schools forced to become academies: “We want to get in front of the announcement and try to persuade the Department of Education we know quite a bit about our schools”, not only does this seem to suggest she knows little or nothing about the schools for whom she has a county council cabinet brief, it would appear she knows nothing about the policies and practices of Education Secretary, Michael Gove, whose prerogative outranks that of Mrs Tilley any day.

Meanwhile, pupils, staff and parents across Oxfordshire are being beaten into the ground by Mrs Tilley’s ill-considered remarks. She has claimed in these columns to be a “champion” of parents and pupils, so it really is time for her to surrender her blunt and bloody axe and talk ‘peace’ with (all) her constituents in (all) the schools of Oxfordshire.

Bruce Ross-Smith, Headington