I BELIEVE that parents should be held responsible if their offspring do not act in a manner which local folk accept as 'normal behaviour'.

But, having said that, I believe that children in school who do well in their examinations should be treated with respect. When I was a boy, those who came from large families did not get the respect of others at that time, and with respect, it was because of the effort of a Labour Government to show 'fairness; as we know it, all children are treated alike if they have the common sense to achieve set standards.

We have all a duty to understand that universities were not begun to educate an elite few, but for anyone who has the intellect to go on and make a name for themselves.

And finally, if as some try to convince us, the standards are too lenient for students, then those standards should be amended before the exams are taken, not afterwards.

A GRANDFATHER, (full name and address supplied).