GCSE courses are not new to Frankland prison (High-risk prisoners sit GCSE English – and many outperform peers on outside, 24 October). I taught GCSE history in a nine-month course for four years from 1987 to 1991. Every man bar one in all four classes passed with a grade C or above. It was one of my most rewarding teaching experiences. In one class was a man who had fought in the Korean war, and in another, a “freedom fighter” from Kashmir. It was all great source material for a 20th-century history course.
Gill Beddow
Bishop Auckland, County Durham
• Thank you for David Squires’ moving tribute to Sir Bobby Charlton (26 October). It brought tears to my eyes. Sometimes it’s the funny guys, the cartoonists, clowns and comedians, who seem best able to invoke moments of profound sadness. Who can forget the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth?
Marilyn Carroll
Manchester
