SIR - I quote: “One competitor, a retired teacher, told of how he had once innocently asked a highly disruptive pupil whether his mother still loved him.” (Craven Herald, Check this out!Plum prizes cap big contest, September 6).

I noticed in one of the national dailies or heard on Radio 4 that great strides are being made with both disruptive pupils and prisoners by teaching them to play chess which makes them concentrate and keeps them quiet for hours. Perhaps the said retired teacher could offer his services to schools for this purpose, likewise the other competitors. This is not an example of either sarcasm or irony.

Gillian Driver

Wharfe View

Grassington