Sir – I was delighted to read Anne Furtado’s letter (February 24) describing her positive experiences of Cherwell school, and the inspired mentoring scheme there.

My own experiences of state education in Oxford (many years ago) were dire, and it brings me relief to hear that important issues such as bullying are being taken seriously. Let’s hope other schools have a similar attitude. To me it stands to reason that a private education in general is superior to a state education. Otherwise, why do parents pay out so much money?

Of course, in saying this I’m not pooh-poohing the work of many excellent state schools such as Cherwell.

Dr Daniel Emlyn-Jones, Oxford