Colin Baker’s article (BFP, Dec 6) on teachers included the sentence “Whatever one might think ideologically about selection, why mess with something that demonstrably works?”

The Minister for Schools, David Laws, has recently criticised the Bucks education results “as a disgrace with 65 per cent of poorer children failing to achieve five good GCSEs”. The selective system may work for a small minority, but not the majority. The following facts would suggest that selective education in Bucks is a shameful failure for most children. n The majority of Bucks grammar school places go to out-of-county and privately educated children, not to Bucks state educated children. n The grammar schools, despite their enhanced catchment areas, do not perform at the highest levels in the country.

n Bucks has among the worst results in the country, with only 35 per cent of pupil premium children gaining five good GCSEs. In contrast, other schools bordering Bucks achieve 65 per cent of children from similar backgrounds getting five good GCSE results.

The upper schools and academies in Bucks are the casualties of the selective system. The public perception of the upper schools is such that most parents who have the option will do everything possible to find an alternative, which may include a place in an out-of-county comprehensive, private schooling or moving.

These options are, of course, only available to parents who can afford the additional costs required to avoid the Bucks selective system.

The reality is that the Bucks secondary education system does not work unless you only consider the 27 per cent of Bucks primary and middle school children who gain a place in one of the grammar schools. D.B, High Wycombe