Letter : A-level triumphs no surprise

Sir, When I went to school in the Sixties the majority of parents had themselves never attended even a secondary school. But we are now well into the second, even the third generation following the 1944 Butler Act.

Why then should we be surprised that our children are doing so well ("A- level pass rate up by 2 per cent", 14 August)? It has long been recognised that educated parents are the greatest single educational advantage that a child can have. They give early assistance and continuing encouragement. Even if schools were poorer and even if standards of teaching had declined one would expect this generation of children to achieve higher levels of attainment than the last.

Dr PHILIP JONES

Chester