Comics as teaching aid

Kevin Schofield (12 April) was right on track regarding the value of comics as an aid to fluent reading. As a schoolboy during the war I was able to order from the local newsagent a copy of the Wizard, freed up as the subscriber had been called up. At 2d for the strictly rationed fortnightly issue, it was a sound investment, as careful trading in the playground meant one could read the Adventure, Hotspur and Rover without further investment.

Along with the majority of my peers I was, at 11 or 12, able to read aloud fluently thanks largely to the standard Scottish use of the phonetic tuition system (now being hailed as a recent breakthrough) and to the invaluable contribution of DC Thomson.

BILLY STEEL

St Inan’s Drive

Beith, Ayrshire