STUART BARR MUSICAL THEATRE DEPARTMENT THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC LONDON NW1 Sir: If being ahead of its benchmark for admissions from state schools is an achievement for an institution (22 September), how can Norwich School of Art and Design, with a 100 per cent record, be ranked equal ninth? The amount above benchmark should not be ranked numerically as in your Top Ten table but as a percentage of the difference between the benchmark and 100 per cent. Music Conservatoires exist to help the most talented musicians into the profession; entry is on musical merit and promise alone. How can they expect to reach 90 per cent state-school admissions (instead of the achieved 48 per cent) if the provision of musical education is so poor in state schools? It's not the RAM's fault, it's the fault of the state education providers. Why compromise standards of musical excellence because of a musical deficit earlier in the education system? Benchmarks suit politicians well, but professional standards poorly.

We will not be diverted from our task of widening participation in higher education. It is a shared responsibility we have with our universities and colleges to reach out to communities, attract new students and offer new opportunities for everyone with the ability to participate. BILL RAMMELL MINISTER OF STATE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION AND LIFELONG LEARNING DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION AND SKILLS LONDON SW1 Sir: Your listing of The Royal Academy of Music as being the worst institution in the country for admitting state school students suitably ridicules benchmark statistics. Universities will be playing their part by providing £300m in bursaries to nearly half a million students from lower incomes.

This includes members of the Russell Group, who will provide £80m. This help should mean that no student is put off from entering higher education because of money worries. Our proposals for a Post-Qualification Application process will help ensure that students get a place at university based on their actual ability rather than often inaccurate predicted exam grades and we are also taking forward research into SATs in university entrance, which should help us to identify students from disadvantaged backgrounds who may have the potential to benefit from higher education. Standing on a stepladder in Schreyvogelgasse didn't figure in my imaginings.It is a fine thing for a woman to be tall But tall doesn't get what these women were They were out of nature Freakish. She seems to want the benefits of celebrity without any of the responsibility.