I REALLY cannot see what all the fuss is about as Education Secretary Michael Gove tries to impose some sanity on the examination system for secondary school pupils (Echo, Sept 18).

It is obvious that grade inflation is rampant and that this trend is eroding the credibility of GCSE qualifications.

I disagree with Dowson Bywell (HAS, Sept 21) when he says that all subjects should have the same academic status.

This surely cannot apply over a wide range of subjects and pupil aptitude.

Previously, the original Olevels were aimed at the most academically gifted 20 per cent of pupils who were expected to go on to university.

It does not follow that the remaining 80 per cent were failures – simply that they went on to other forms of further education.

It was the introduction of the comprehensive school system that decreed everyone should go into further education, no matter how socially useless this might be.

Not everyone can be a nuclear scientist. We need skilled tradesmen and it’s an indictment of this country that such people are labelled as failures.

At school I had two colleagues, one who gained 90 per cent science marks with little effort and one who struggled academically.

The former became a GP, while the latter was a gardener – but both have enjoyed fulfilling careers.

VJ Connor, Bishop Auckland .