Selective schools coaching a burden on young students

How refreshing to read about a child and parents who have a more relaxed view on getting into selective school (“Why Summer’s family is opting out of selective school test coaching”, August 17). What is it worth if the child is not well-balanced with other activities and interest besides study? So many of the children who attend hours of tutoring and cramming are so tense and worried about what will happen if they do not get in. Stressed-out children are so sad to see when they should be enjoying life with their friends, playing, participating in sport, reading, painting, listening to music or simply relaxing. Selective schools have a detrimental effect on the local high schools as they remove potentially some of the top students. The same effect is found on the local primary school when students leave for years 5/6, depriving the school of some high achievers. They also often remove the child from their local community and nearby social group (as do many private schools). It is equally important for students to have a happy social life. Perhaps it is time to rethink the value of these classes and put more into providing quality education locally. After all, we want happy, well-educated, well-adjusted adults who contribute to society.
Augusta Monro, Dural

It is remarkable that the NSW Department of Education continues to maintain that extra paid coaching outside school does not advantage students in the selective schools test. Apart from the fact that intensive training using banks of typical questions clearly delivers significant advantage, a past Herald editorial stated some 95 per cent of selective school students have received paid coaching. The design of the selective testing system has normalised the commercialisation of coaching, making it a necessary part of the schooling pathway. Assuming we accept the premise that selective public schools are a good idea, there are better ways to identify which students are likely to benefit.
David Grover, Chatswood

Selective school test coaching may, or may not, assist some students in gaining a position in a selective school. However, the competition between students does not finish after entering a selective school, or some private schools for that matter. It often only begins. Test and assignment scores are hotly compared and stress levels for those who chase comparisons can increase as major exams approach. Mental health issues are importantly closely monitored. Schools offer differences and finding the right school, though often humbling, can provide a safety net for a healthy student’s future. Academic results are not the only measure of success.
Janice Creenaune, Austinmer

Reef at risk

Peter Gibson’s visit to Ningaloo Reef was spoiled by the unprecedented bleaching he observed (Letters, August 17). It arose from the fourth and worst global mass coral bleaching event on record. Shockingly, the bleaching has affected 84 per cent of the world’s corals. The map of the severe marine heatwave engulfing Australia in NOAA’s 2025 Coral Bleaching Report says it all. And yet we still have the Coalition resisting emissions targets. Young Liberal Georgia Lowden has told Peter Fitzsimons that if the Coalition doesn’t take action on climate change, it will “never win government again” (“The right call her ‘pathetic’, but this young Lib is punching back”, August 17). With MPs like Barnaby Joyce and Matt Canavan, only generational change will bring the Coalition into the real world. But voters won’t wait.

Ray Peck, Hawthorn (Vic)

Plastic not fantastic

Your story (“The life cycle of plastics: a modern wonder that’s choking the planet”, August 17) while interesting, didn’t tell me anything new – that recycled plastic ultimately ends up in landfill and recycling is mostly about downcycling to less valuable and less in-demand products. Rather than recycle, what we really need to do is reduce our use of plastics. Most fruit and vegetables ends up in single-use plastic, prepackaged or not. Why not use paper bags and get the checkout operators to peer into the bag to see what they are weighing? As for those takeaway coffee cups, that’s a lifestyle issue. Coffee you can carry comes at a considerable environmental cost. We could change that if we had the will to do so.

Garry Feeney, Kingsgrove

Roundtable essential

Parnell Palme McGuinness’s opinion piece is an exemplar in how an armchair expert can pontificate on complex subjects and add nothing (“Roundtable could have been an email”, August 17). Improving productivity in Australia is very difficult and multifaceted, as demonstrated by the size of the Productivity Commission’s preparatory documents covering more than 500 pages, as well as the range of issues covered in their website. To propose that this issue could be covered in a zillion emails is absurd. Face-to-face discussions are crucial, as the communications consultant author would know. The other big absurdity in this article is to connect the process to the CIA’s 1944 Simple Sabotage Field Manual. No one in this inquiry is aiming at sabotaging improving productivity or trying to “kill progress”.
Bill Johnstone, Blackheath

Quote me

There have been many articles about the agony of potential buyers missing out on a housing deal because of problems like underquoting, such as the one in the Sun-Herald (“Wasted time and money for buyers priced out”, August 17). The whole issue of looking for a place to buy is already fraught with tension, frayed nerves and cost outlays, and it is probably possible to reduce but not erase this. A partial solution may be to change the auction process and align reserve prices with the quotes given by agents. My proposal is the reserve price be publicly quoted and the vendor be responsible for providing pest, building and strata reports. Potential buyers then provide their agents with sealed bids expressed as an amount either plus or minus the reserve. These bids are opened by the auctioneer on the agreed sale date and the vendor is compelled to accept the highest bid. If no bids equal or exceed the reserve, then the vendor is entitled to negotiate with the three highest bidders. This method might dramatically improve the process as the market knows the most likely outcome as buyers hopefully will focus on prospects within their range while agents will need to do proper research to establish the reserve price.
James Archibald, Enmore

Wellness 101

The only wellness influencers one should take notice of are those who research nutrition and exercise professionally and publish surveys, preferably involving thousands of people over a considerable time, in peer-reviewed science and medical journals (“Beware bad advice: With huge profits on the line, wellness pin-ups have changed.” August17). Anyone else is likely to mislead through faddish behaviour or financial arrangements with companies profiting through often unnecessary supplements. The sports stars are particularly problematic in pushing supplements which likely have no influence on their abilities. We should all aim for wellness, but the best strategy of good diet, minimal alcohol, daily physical and mental exercise is a no-brainer and does not require photogenic influencers from social media.
Geoff Harding, Chatswood

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