We now live in a country where there is no motivation for year 11 or 13 students; where we have five hours of gruelling online schooling a day; where there are no exams at the end of this year to work towards; where the government has given us next to no information about how we are being assessed at the end of this year. Isn’t it time something was done about this?
Amelia Ferris
Year 11 pupil, Marlborough, Wiltshire
• There was a time when many conservatives (big and small c) used to distinguish between the “deserving” and the “undeserving” poor. The contents of the “free school meals” for children in poverty as shown in your report (Ministers urged to change ‘food parcel first’ policy by parents in England, 12 January) appear to indicate that this government believes all poor children are undeserving.
Dr David Drake
London
• Graeme Innes-Johnstone’s letter (7 January) reminded me of a text message I received on 23 December. It advised me that my Covid-19 test eight months previously on 30 April was negative, and that I should continue to self-isolate until my symptoms resolved.
Peter Rutty
South Croydon, London
• I always love finding and reading old newspapers (Letters, 6 January). So for others in the future I always put a Guardian, or two, under a floorboard when replacing carpets.
Simon Maddison
Hitchin, Hertfordshire
• Spring has arrived in Dorset’s Blackmore Vale. The first wild garlic shoots have emerged, wonderfully pungent and perfect for cooking; and social distancing too – no one comes within 2 metres of you for at least a couple of days.
Malcolm Wilson
Ibberton, Dorset
