I attended a rather good school, where we were taught to read what was written. It would appear that this is a skill which Mr Smith has failed to acquire (Feedback, June 10), despite enduring years of English lessons.

The fact that he had to "endure" those years is a telling case for modernising spelling. If he had read my letter correctly, he would have known that, far from not realising that "septic" is an entirely different word from "sceptic", it was that very fact that I was highlighting. The spelling (in the UK) has not been brought up to date so as to recognise that the modern pronunciation is "skeptic"; rather than "septic".

As for there being no place for the Anglo-US language here, unlike the Welsh, who have their own language, the English have no choice.

Incidentally, the Spelling Society is a respected organisation which has been in existence for more than 100 years with members throughout the world, including politicians, businessmen and many academics.

Robert Craig,

Member of the Spelling Society.