Sir, – The 241 per cent increase in numbers of children being taught in primary school classes of over 30 pupils in North Yorkshire, from 314 in 2010 to 1,070 in 2014, is very bad news.

Putting extra pupils into a classroom designed for thirty causes problems for staff and pupils. Relaxing the rules for over-30 classes, allowing schools several years to rectify the situation instead of one, was wrong. Twelve months is long enough to allow for a sudden spurt. Birth rates are rising, and the government must ensure that local authorities have the means to provide additional classrooms where there is need.

My late wife Frances taught her infants class in a “demountable”, since removed. It could be needed again. The government recognises that the early years of a child’s life are crucial to their development and to realising their potential. This weakness in the system must be put right.

As a school governor for over 30 years, I know only too well that children who leave primary school lacking basic skills never catch up.

CHRIS FOOTE-WOOD

Brook Terrace, Darlington.