And the education debate rages on

Re: Anja Siebel and Claire Jones' letters (The Lawyer, 30 June).

I seem to have opened a can of worms with my letter of 9 June. Firstly, I was not aware that my letter was singling out mature students. This would be rather stupid, as I am a 42-year-old mature student myself.

Further, Ruskin College, Oxford, is not part of the Oxford University establishment but the renowned trade union college that only takes mature students from a non-academic background.

As for my "privileged, sexist" background with the "freedom to make choices at an early age", I left school with no academic qualifications and became a soldier (ranker not officer). In order to attend Ruskin I gave up my home, my job and my wife, and worked at the local supermarket as a shelf stacker to help me fund my commitment. I have a long history in trade union rights, welfare rights, CAB and legal centres.

If you are going to do anything, then doing it well is a prerequisite. A legal first degree is nothing less than a prerequisite!



Robert J Roweth

Ruskin College, Oxford