Sir,

I was very upset to read in a Wales Government Educational report that Greenhill School was given a Red alert by the educational establishment powers that be in Cardiff. I am a Pembrokeshire man and Tenby man and I glory in it and attended this school which in my era there, 1961 to 68, was a decent modern comprehensive adhering to the liberal educational policies of Sir Edward Boyle who opened it as Pembrokeshire’s only comprehensive at that time in 1961.

I at first considered this a sort of Welsh elite attack on Pembrokeshire schools as Pembroke School and Haverfordwest also took a hit.

On discussing it with my wife, who is an educationalist and ran Hampstead Sixth Form College, as well as later advising Teachers Leaders, a Government funded forum to seek and promote rising stars to be future headteachers, the feeling is that it is almost impossible to dismiss poor quality teachers in Wales.

In London, which attained the highest educational results, many older non-computer literate teachers were given early retirement to bring in fresh younger teachers.

It is a tough enough job to be a teacher and very tough when older. In my own day some older teachers did very little, but they were a tiny minority. We faced nothing like the challenging global environment today.

There is, however, a statistical interpretation that makes me think the judgement on Greenhill calls for reconsideration. This is the basic benchmark used to judge most schools. It is the percentage of children at the school on free school meals.

This is such a crucial statistic as it shows the degree of financial difficulty mitigating family circumstances in all catchment areas and we all know adverse conditions and poverty affect kids most.

The amazing fact is that Tenby has a low percentage of such needing children in comparison to most parts of Wales. At below 10 per cent, Tenby ought to do far better than areas in Wales’ former coal producing regions, now with damaging unemployment. The statistic reaches 30 per cent in some cases. Yet these schools seem to fare well, according to the Cardiff experts.

Maybe somebody in Cardiff can give a rational explanation I have missed.

They can also throw in why pizza huts are allowed near ancient town walls. In Hampstead, featured in a much-praised Fourcroft Hotel film night, the fight was to keep MacDonalds out and when finally allowed in, neon signs and glitz and noise were to be severely regulated.

Clr. Williams and Rossiter are right here. This decision from outside is like the school report. Something is not right. The Ministers seem even poorer quality than those in Westminster. Vote them out.

Garfield Smith,

London and Tenby.