Regardless of how “counter-productive” it was of the Abingdon headteacher to name and shame those pupils who failed to reach a certain grade in their mock GCSEs, is it not still the case that the usual reason for poor results is the fact the individuals concerned are what used to be called “thick”?

There was a time when society had roles for the bright, the average and the others, who should not feel ashamed to be in that category. The system was not perfect, but it was far preferable to one which idiotically attempts to create a generation of over-achievers, to the detriment of just about everybody.

DAVID DIMENT, Riverside Court, Oxford