Making the grade in English

That 1 in 4 pupils fail to make the grade in English (see Telegraph) is not surprising if the evidence from one Buckinghamshire primary school is anything to go by. For some weeks now, displayed in the assembly hall, as if the school were proud of it, is the grocer's apostrophe in a verb. A painted poster proclaims:

"Africa need's money".

With teaching like this at primary level, we shouldn't expect improvements in English any time soon.