A report in the Ledbury Reporter (May 9) on Ledbury Primary School indicated the high praise it had received following a recent Ofsted inspection. In fact, some areas, including pastoral care, were considered by the inspectors to be outstanding. Some of your readers may then wonder why Ledbury Primary School is not nearer to the top of the infamous league tables. You may see this as a criticism of the school but in fact nothing could be further from the truth.

The reason this school does not have higher results is that it wishes to provide an holistic education to the whole range of children. It therefore includes in the school a wide range of children with special needs including some with quite profound problems.

Some of these children will be unable to take the Government tests, others will take them but will not achieve even average grades, although in relation to their problems they may do very well. All of these children have to be included in the statistics and this inevitably affects the percentage of above average grades achieved for the year group.

Some schools are more selective in their intake and can therefore ensure their results are good and their league table place, high. Does this make them a better school?

As a society we recognise the value, I hope, of accepting children and adults with particular difficulties into our midst. Ledbury Primary School is absolutely brilliant at doing just this and it would be good to bear this in mind when scanning the next set of league tables.

It is also important to remember that in providing an education within mainstream for children with special needs, the education of all the other pupils is in no way compromised. Far from it, these youngsters have the opportunity to work alongside children whose abilities and needs are very different to their own.

If this helps them to be more tolerant and caring adults, this can only be for the good.

Sheina Stockton, Welland Road, Upton-upon-Severn