TEACHERS should be paid on their ability and results.

It seems to me that teachers have had a cushy number for years – a short working day, a five-day week, long holidays, free meals and a gold-plated pension, etc.

Then we read how many schools are producing poor results.

I was self-employed and worked six days a week, starting at 7am until 6pm. I had to pay for my own meals and fund my own pension. If I was lucky, I had three weeks off a year.

I’m not condemning teachers, in fact, quite the contrary. I think they do a great service to our community, but there is a percentage who think it’s the easy way through life.

You couldn’t have paid me to be a teacher, but to an outsider looking in, teachers do seem to moan an awful lot.

I wonder why? Please accept this letter as a question not condemnation.

J Cumberland, Rushyford.