Letter: Class Barriers

Sir: Because people change classes ("Barriers break as Britain embraces upward mobility", 25 September) does not mean that class is dead. It is alive and is the decisive influence on a Briton's chances in life.

To be born on a run-down council estate and educated at a comprehensive, where the teachers are condemned to cope with the consequences of generations of social neglect and damned when they fail, is a ticket to a life in the underclass.

The few who make it up the greasy pole are to be admired, but their success does not affect the fate of their contemporaries.

D S HOSKINS

Edinburgh