“Nothing insulting in saying the truth” says Keith Mitchell (Oxford Mail ViewPoints, January 2) in defence of Councillor Melinda Tilley’s “basically rubbish” description of Oxford’s Key Stage 2 results.

He then proceeds to add injury to insult. He: 1. Attacks the teaching profession for “crippling arrogance”; 2. Castigates those senior managers in challenging schools who ask for an even playing field and 3. Insults what he calls “dysfunctional” families.

This is a standard Tory rant and should not be deemed to have any educational merit whatsoever.

If Mr Mitchell read the Oxford Mail more carefully, he might have paused before picking up his poison pen.

When Liam Sloan visited Tower Hamlets (Oxford Mail, February 28 last year) he found out exactly why London’s poorest borough does so much better than Oxford.

The borough receives £7,500 per pupil, compared with £4,600 in Oxfordshire.

Ask each “failing” school how results could be improved with more English and maths specialists, were its budget to be increased by the odd million or so.

There is another reason why Oxfordshire’s playing field is so uneven.

For decades, if not longer, the county has been home to a burgeoning private school system that has been blatantly fostered by the Tories (assisted places scheme) and rather more covertly by Labour (allowing tax exemption of private schools to continue).

Naturally many parents prefer the “safe” route of educating their children privately, with fees subsidised thanks to the generosity of workers.

Unless such inequalities are addressed, Oxfordshire pupils and schools will continue to fail, as Mr Mitchell must full well know.

J K SAUNDERS (Mr) Ramsay Road Oxford