Sir, - I have no disagreement with most of Marie Neylon's letter (November 26th). Like her, I believe that a school should provide a fully rounded education, addressing all the needs of its pupils.
Academic results alone are not a sufficient measure of a school's achievement, but they are a measure. What I object to is the move to prevent us, the parents (and, dare I say it? - customers), from having the information and making informed decisions.
If I wish to send my children to a school with high academic achievements then I should have the information available to enable me to make that selection. If sports or other areas are important to my children then that comes into consideration too. The decision is ours - made in the best interests of our children. Why are we being denied the information?
It seems to me as if the Department of Education doesn't think we know what is best for our children - that they do and we should be happy with that. I disagree.
Of course a secondary issue is that publishing results of Leaving Certificate results will enable comparisons to be made and questions to be asked about the quality and effectiveness of teaching. But that is for another day. - Yours, etc., John McCann,
Corbawn Lane, Shankill, Co Dublin.