I AM writing as a worried parent of a 22-year-old daughter, on a subject that will affect all trainee teachers though about which little is known.

After two years at college and three at university, where she obtained a 2:1 degree with honours in music, my daughter is now at college in Didsbury training to be a music teacher. She was very enthusiastic until the Government threw a spanner in the works!

At the beginning of February the students learned that all trainee teachers must in future sit a numeracy test and the ten per cent with the lowest scores will simply not qualify as teachers, however brilliant they may be in their chosen field. The test will involve mental arithmetic as well as written work and will be harder than a GCSE exam.

There must be hundreds of very worried students out there who, like my daughter, are not so good at maths and are convinced that they are going to be among the ten per cent not to qualify.

What makes me so angry is the underhand way this has been introduced, without any publicity or warning, and in the middle of their training year with no time to prepare. It is an extremely stressful situation. As if they didn't have enough on their plate already, what with loans and debts on top of all the hard work. My daughter is very depressed and wonders if it is worth carrying on with her training. If she fails to qualify, is the Government going to pay back her loans and compensate her for lost earnings for a wasted year? I think not!

Their tutors sympathise totally, but there is nothing they can do to help. The students are talking about petitions and boycotting the test. They are all panic-stricken.

Future students will know about the test and will have plenty of time to prepare, but that will not alter the fact that we as a country will still lose ten per cent of would-be teachers with the lowest marks. Among them could be some excellent teachers in their field, whose true vocation will be denied them because of this farcical system. We are crying out for good teachers. It just does not make sense.

In my opinion it is a scandal that young talent will be wasted, not to mention the personal anguish of each individual who has studied hard for years, only to be rejected. What does this Government think it is playing at? They should be opening doors, not closing them.

I suggest that those affected should write to their MP or to the Education Secretary. We must fight this injustice.

If anyone can suggest a solution I would be grateful. The test is scheduled for June 1 and there is some information about it on the Teacher Training Agency website at www.teach-tta.gov.uk/skillstests/index.htm

B. HUGHES

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