YP Letters: Why all the fuss about exam time?

From: AW Clarke, Wold Croft, Sutton on Derwent, York.

DURING recent years we have been regaled by parents, the media and, in some cases, the teaching profession of the terrible stress that children are suffering due to the final school years exams – in my day referred to as O-Levels and A-Levels.

I assume that these tests must have become much more difficult in view of the hysteria which is generated when the exam season starts. Do other people think, as I do, that there was none of this fuss when we took examinations in comparison to today?

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Nowadays, when results are announced, television cameras record hysterical youngsters weeping and screaming to be filmed for posterity. Accompanying parents are also on hand to be recorded in various states of emotion.

Is all this really necessary and has it occurred to other people that the children would be better left to ‘get on with it’ as we were? I’m sure that the evident stress in pupils cannot be helped if adults continue to turn the whole thing into a circus.

I should also add that I think that the media, particularly television, has not been entirely without blame for this state of affairs.

From: Mrs S M Abbott, Melbourne Road, Wakefield.

I’M not an intellectual, but I did go to a good secondary school (technical high school, now a comprehensive) in the 1960s and was taught English by a very strict English teacher – needless to say all in my class passed English language at GCE O-Level.

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I was always given to understand that it is a “number” of people and not “amount” as I read everywhere, not least of all in your business section (The Yorkshire Post, March 24) where Mark Casci refers to “an amount of messages”.

Kamikaze pilot in No 10

From: R Hemingway, Monkbridge Road, Meanwood, Leeds.

IN view of recent events, Theresa May seems intent on pursuing a kamikaze course to oblivion.

Yes, President Assad is a monster but her decision to bomb Syria’s ‘chemical factories’ was ill-judged as very little was achieved. No doubt Assad and his Russian allies will have surplus stocks of chemicals/bombs.

The war will continue to murder, maim and cause extreme suffering for Syrians.

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As regards the Windrush affair, this is an absolute disgrace and a complete fiasco and proves just how arrogant and incompetent this Prime Minister is – ably assisted by the inept Amber Rudd.

From: Philip Taylor, Milner Street, Lockwood, Huddersfield.

JEREMY Corbyn wanted a debate in Parliament before a decision was to be made to attack chemical weapons storage and manufacturing facilities in Syria.

It is my view that warning the enemy of an attack is sheer lunacy and would have further endangered the lives of the brave pilots of France, the USA and the United Kingdom.

How could he feel comfortable being partially responsible for those losses with modern communication facilities? News travels fast, especially to the enemy.

Marking local business gems

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From: Victoria Dickson, Yorkshire & the Humber representative for Community Business Weekend 2018.

EVERY day, tens of thousands of people go to work at one of the 7,000 community businesses in England. Hundreds of thousands of us shop, visit or benefit from them directly, yet they are still relatively unknown.

Among them are community shops, with an impressive survival rate of over 95 per cent compared to around 50 per cent for small businesses generally. In some communities, they can be the single biggest employer.

That’s why Power to Change, the independent trust supporting community businesses, is once again organising Community Business Weekend on May 4-7 (#CBwkd18) to shine a light on these community-powered gems that not only provide key services but boost local economies and reinvest the profits for the benefit of local people. Pubs, libraries, housing, shops, farms, transport and renewable energy are just some examples.

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It is an opportunity for community businesses to invite local people to see behind the scenes, understand how they can get involved in running a business for community good and have a say in local decision-making.

Within the current context of continued cuts to local services and the slow recovery of wages, there’s arguably never been a better time (or a more pressing need) for communities to take control and prosper. Visit www.communitybusinessweekend.org to find out more.

Angling for Heartbeat

From: Brian H Sheridan, Lodge Moor, Sheffield.

FURTHER to the recent correspondence on the Ford Anglia, Jarvis Browning’s letter prompts me to to recount a significant experience in my life. (The Yorkshire Post, April 19).

Some 10 years ago my wife and I decided to make a long-overdue visit to North Yorkshire. Arriving at Goathland, we were surprised how busy it was but, on seeing a Ford Anglia attracting attention, we decided to investigate.

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I told a bystander that I had learned to drive in a Ford Anglia and asked what all the fuss was about. He then explained about Aidensfield and the iconic role played by that very vehicle. We had never seen Heartbeat.

Since then we have seen every episode of this classic. My favourites are Greengrass, played by the late, great Bill Maynard and David Lonsdale as David Stockwell, who may not be the sharpest knife in the drawer but has an uncommon amount of emotional intelligence.