The Secretary,
The Wodda Packer-Galahs Institute,
Wodda 3082.
Dear Madam,
As you know, we have quite a number of your charges in the school. The association with your boarding establishment is one we value greatly and, as you know, some of our best students have come to us from a Packer-Galahs background.
Unfortunately, I write to outline some worrying developments in the school, which we think may perhaps originate in the home.
We have seen evidence for some time of collusion during tests conducted in the school, particularly in the maths and sciences area. Answers are often identical and even errors are sometimes replicated faithfully over entire classes. It is very difficult for us to assess the individual students properly in this atmosphere and our claim to inculcate a strong sense of responsibility and self-sufficiency is consequently in some jeopardy.
I wonder if I could prevail on you to have a word with the students at your earliest convenience, and impress upon them the need to think for themselves, to finish their own work and to compete against one another. This is the basis of our education system and, indeed, of our entire society.
Security cameras recently picked up the image below, of one of our better female students talking to a male student during an algebra test. The boy, pictured right, who has hitherto proven rather a slow learner with an attitude problem, nevertheless appears to have topped the state in trigonometry, an honour he shares with the girl (left). This result, while gratifying, is of some concern given that collaboration is clearly at epidemic levels.
Yrs
Sue Pervisor
Curriculum Planning,
St Expensives