Sir – The influx of young foreign students into Oxford has this summer grown out of all proportion.

Large contingents of teenagers converge daily on the already packed centre of the city. Is it too much to ask that the multi-national organisations such as EF which administer these mass programmes should give an account of themselves?

The present situation is unsatisfactory for residents and visitors alike. Pedestrians are justifiably annoyed by the overcrowding of pavements and buses, while the young visitors, left to themselves, are understandably bored.

When it rains, there is nowhere for them to take shelter. The older and smaller language schools place their students in family accommodation, where they have opportunities to speak English, but those housed in Oxford Brookes University residential halls gain little first-hand experience of English life.

It is not enough to download large parties of foreign students on the city centre. It should not be too difficult for the council to get together with EF and similar organisations in order to discuss these matters. Ideally what is needed is a site in central Oxford where visitors will be made welcome and perhaps — even — meet the natives. As things are, we are killing a goose that could lay golden eggs. The teenagers of today are the tourists of tomorrow. It is not enough to trade on the Oxford brand name: the Oxford experience has to be made accessible and attractive.

Martin Murphy, Oxford