Primary school class sizes

Madam, - Each time I read or hear the terms "teacher pupil ratio" or "average class size", I cringe.

I teach in a primary school in which the teacher-pupil radio is 1:16 and the average class size is 26. Yet, I teach a class consisting of 34 pupils.

I urge the INTO leadership and parents' representatives to stop using these terms and instead use one such as "maximum number of pupils per class" (the figure of 20 seems right to me). Pupil teacher ratio or average class size is no consolation to the 34 pupils I teach.

Until we have a reasonable maximum number of pupils per class, thousands of pupils will continue to suffer in our primary schools. - Yours, etc.,

DAVID GAVIN, The Grove, Celbridge, Co Kildare.