My school report was a comprehension test for me and my mother

‘Neither my mother nor I knew what “garish” meant, and we didn’t possess a dictionary to find out.’ Photograph: MBI/Alamy

My report (Letters, 29 September) at the end of my first term at grammar school in 1951 included the phrase “tends to juggle with his implements of devour”, to which my mother commented (seriously) “I didn’t know they taught juggling there”. My end-of-year report said: “His appearance is marred by the garish glitter of unsuitable yellow socks.” Neither my mother nor I knew what “garish” meant, and we didn’t possess a dictionary to find out.
Ian Thompson
Riding Mill, Northumberland

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Whitehaven, Cumbria