I REALISE schoolchildren have to carry so much in their backpacks because too many subjects are on the school curriculum.

Surely a more thorough teaching of the basic subjects such as maths and English should be on the agenda first.

I wonder how many teenagers can recite the times tables, from two through to 12 from memory, and can spell catchy words like necessary with the single and double consonants the right way round.

Once the student has a good understanding of the basic subjects, they gain confidence to tackle specialised subjects.

As your correspondent Clive Holmes points out, too much slang is creeping in to our correct use of the English language.

Is this a reflection of poor teaching standards in our national language? Life is already full of too many shortcuts.

ADRIAN TAYLOR Thames Street Eynsham