On the report in today's Telegraph, "Pupils to be paid for Saturday classes", I would like to make the following comments:

If a mother had to pay her child to eat her cooking, we would conclude that she must be a pretty lousy cook. Likewise, if an education authority has to pay its pupils to learn, we can conclude that it must have some pretty lousy teachers on its payroll.

We need to cultivate in our kids a sense of appreciation of how fortunate they are having the opportunity of full-time schooling - which is provided at great expense for their benefit. And again it is the teachers who are responsible for getting this message across. If they are unable to do so, it is them, far more than their pupils, who are failing.