Letters | 26 March 2011 | The Spectator

All in the delivery

Sir: Toby Young’s opinions about Cardinal Vaughan school (Status anxiety, 19 March) are subjective and misguided. When seeking a new headteacher, our governing body will be looking for the best person to fill that role and that is all. Cardinal Vaughan is rated ‘outstanding’ and there is every commitment, from the Archbishop of Westminster downwards, to ensure that rating is maintained. On the question of sharing expertise, I would remind the Spectator that at its own recent conference on education, the Secretary of State, Michael Gove, talked about the need for partnership among schools. I could envisage Toby Young approaching the senior management team of the Vaughan for advice on the delivery of high-quality education in the free school he is seeking to establish. Finally, the governing body is already considering the question of the school becoming an academy, as are no doubt many other schools.

John M. O’Donnell
Chairman of governors, Cardinal Vaughan Memorial School, London W14

The mighty pen

Sir: I read with interest and delight Mark Mason’s article discussing the fascinating question of handwritten versus word-processed documents (‘Chained to the Keys’, 19 March). He can be assured that the art of writing by hand is most certainly not dead, as a team of over 600 examiners of which I am one will attest. We travel to many parts of the globe for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, or ABRSM as we are now known, assessing tens of thousands of individual musical performances, penning a handwritten report on each one. Mr Mason’s inspiring article has reinforced my firm belief that a report written by hand conveys a respect for the emotion and sheer hard work that goes into a musical performance much better than a typed sheet ever could.