The Reader: Removing charity status won’t help school divide

It has always been held that education is charitable but the Labour Party is attempting to take a scythe to the very base of this belief and remove charitable status from private schools.

Education is a pillar of our rich heritage, founded by the philanthropy of great reformers like Anthony Ashley Cooper, seventh earl of Shaftesbury. During his time in government, Shaftesbury reformed the laws to protect children from having to work in mines and as chimney sweeps and then, in 1844, went on to found the independent Ragged Schools Union for underprivileged children.

So yes, from its roots education is charitable, an unselfish sharing of knowledge, like a parent with a child. Labour should celebrate the success of our private schools and promote partnerships between the state and the private sector for the good of the education sector in this country as a whole.
Ronnie Devine

Editor's reply

Ronnie
I recently read a story about a teenage boy who had lived on the streets and with drug dealers before becoming head boy at a prestigious boarding school.

It was all thanks to funding from the school and a charity called Buttle UK, which has helped hundreds of vulnerable children through boarding schools over the past 66 years.

So I do agree that there is charity in private schools and I think we should be asking them to do more for disadvantaged children.However pigs will fly before Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour Party “celebrates” private education and I don’t necessarily think it should.

But perhaps it could ease up on its hostile stance towards private schools — as I suspect it might in its manifesto. We have incredible comprehensive schools here in London with many rapidly outpacing private schools in Oxbridge offers they receive.

Can’t we just live and let live?
Sophia Sleigh, Political Reporter

UK must do more for the elderly

For too long, our country’s older people have been let down by successive governments’ failures to prioritise social care.

Our research shows that while 89 per cent of people think social care reform should be a priority for politicians, only 45 per cent believe politicians recognise it as a priority.

With 87 per cent of people fed up with issues such as social care being neglected as a result of ongoing Brexit discussions, urgent action is needed to restore public trust.

Forthcoming manifestos must address the funding and workforce pressures facing social care, including a cap on costs.

This is a chance to turn the social care crisis around and provide clarity for older people. We must act now to secure a positive future for our ageing population.
Jane Ashcroft CBE, Chief executive, Anchor Hanover

Keep police out of train food fight

I agree with your leader article [“Food fights on the train ”, November 12]. Food should be kept for after the journey. However, to report such incidents to the police is just simply silly. In my view it’s wasting police time. Officers have more important things to attend to. Taking the matter to court is farcical. Is it November 14 or April 1?
Christine Moulie

Make Oxford the Venice of Britain​

Matthew Rice’s piece [“Who needs Venice when Oxford is on our doorstep? ”, November 12] made a passionate appeal for us to visit Oxford, comparing its architecture to great European cities such as Venice. There is actually another comparison he could have made, as Oxford does have a canal.

However, all the advantages that it could bring to the city were thwarted when the main canal basin was built over. It is now a car park but the original road bridge over the canal can still be seen where the canal now ends.

Oxford should realise its asset and re-excavate the old canal basin and reconstruct some warehouses. It just needs a little imagination.
Kirk Martin

Matthew Rice highlights the undoubted charms of Oxford. But don’t forget the charms of the North of England. Grey Street in Newcastle for example, described by art and architecture historian Sir Nikolaus Pevsner as one of England’s finest streets, is surely worth a mention.
Iain Watson