Letter: Prepare for the homework snoops

Sir: More homework is not the answer. Education based on homework is discriminatory in the worst way - against those children who have no suitable surroundings at home to work in, or who do not have supportive parents.

Instead it should be abolished. The school day should run from 9am to 5.30pm, the last 90 minutes being a quiet time when the children do their "homework", overseen by teachers who get on with their marking. Both would end up working a shorter day, copying homework between pupils would be reduced, and parents could work normal hours instead of having to leave to collect their children in mid-afternoon.

Above all, children with difficult circumstances at home would get a fair chance to produce their best work.

DAVID HARINGTON

London W3