I AM intrigued to read in the Oxford Mail (December 6) that 37 headteachers have written to the Prime Minister warning of ‘retrograde and dangerous’ plans to bring grammar schools back to Oxfordshire”, coming coincidentally just a couple of weeks after my last letter to the Oxford Mail pointing out the sound educational thinking (as opposed to political thinking) behind the grammar/secondary modern strategy.

There is nothing wrong with the principle of grammar/secondary modern schools.

Children learn at different speeds, and the whole point of the selective system is to ensure that fast pacers and slow pacers are taught in separate matched-ability groups at a speed that is comfortable for each group’s separate general abilities.

Each group benefits immeasurably by receiving a first-class education according to its needs: there is nothing “better” about one school and “second-rate” about the other.

The flaw in the system is the lack of flexibility between the grammar school in one building and the secondary modern in another: under the same roof, slow pacers who improve over time and fast pacers who find the going more difficult can be more easily accommodated by transferring to a more appropriate matched ability group, set according to subject.

Current practice favours mixed ability groups, but it is an impractical nonsense to suppose that children can learn in the fragmented mixed ability class: no single teacher can cope with a wide range of mixed abilities all in the same room all at the same time – which, of course, is why Learning Support Assistants had to be invented.

Another essential ingredient in building up and maintaining high standards is to ensure direct liaison between the secondary sector and the feeder schools in the primary sector, to promote continuity.

Apparently Ms Curtis claims that “well-funded education in all ability schools is most advantageous”.

This might well be the case, provided care is taken over what is meant by “all ability schools”.

While current culture is immersed in political values that have nothing to do with educational values, standards in UK state education will remain stagnant as they have for decades – about the same length of time since mixed ability comprehensives were introduced – which explains why we have been striving to “raise standards” for years without quite getting there.

ROGER GRIFFIN Cromwell Avenue, Thame