Sir, Latin, we are told, is a grade harder than any other subject at GCSE level (“Latin loses out for being too difficult”, June 26). Classicists fear that this may be a further nail in the coffin, as pupils abandon it to get higher grades elsewhere.

This is false reasoning. University admissions tutors, frustrated by the large number of A-grades gained by candidates at AS level, are turning their attention increasingly to performance at GCSE, particularly in those subjects known to require some intellectual rigour, such as German and Latin. As such, Latin is regarded as a useful discriminator and correspondingly valued. This is an argument for the continuation, not the reduction, of Latin in schools.

Few things of any worth are gained without effort, and the brain requires exercise as much as the body.

JOHN DAVIE
London SW13