'I've never known a profession to have so many days off'

THERE have been many memorable quotes from recent history. "We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire... give us the tools and we shall finish the job" – Winston Churchill, 1941.

"That's one step for man, one giant step for mankind" – Neil Armstrong, 1969.

"If parents think this is a jolly they should join us and find out how hard staff work. They are giving up their weekend" – Mr Mercer, headteacher of Edensor school, 2008.

Is Mr Mercer for real? Does he expect that people would not be aggrieved to see him taking 80 of his teachers for a "training seminar" in the top Spanish resort of Marbella?

I honestly could not believe what I was reading. "We looked at conference facilities in Birmingham and London but they are even more expensive," said Mr Mercer. Why should he want to take his teachers to Birmingham or London? What is wrong with the town hall, a local hotel or even the school itself?

He has even had the audacity to ask sceptical parents to join him. I for one would love an all-expenses-paid weekend which would every now and again get broken up to attend a half-an-hour speech.

Am I right in thinking that we are in the midst of a recession and that people are tightening their purse strings? Should this headmaster not be doing the same? Would this money be better spent on text books, computers and the school? In fact, why should teachers have training days anyway? I have never known a group of professional people have so many paid days off; seven-week summer holidays, three-week Christmas holidays – the list goes on.

One last word about this Spanish trip. I was talking to a friend whose child goes to a local school and he may have to pay £15 for just one text book. This stinks when I read about Mr Mercer's activities.

M DAVIES

Blythe Bridge