THE proposed surcharge by Tadcaster Grammar School basically amounts to begging (The Press, November 19).

If the school cannot live within its budget they should lobby the funding authority (the government) rather than beg to parents, many of whom are financially strapped themselves.

If when people visit the supermarket they were charged at the checkout for the goods they had purchased and were then asked to pay other percentages on top of their grocery bill to pay for the increase in staff pensions and staff National Insurance contributions, that supermarket would soon go out of business.

As The Press editorial comment (November 19) points out: “The principle of a free school education is one of the bastions of modern British life.”

What happens to the children of the parents that cannot afford to make the approximate extra payment of £1,100 a year?

This is definitely the first step along the road to making parents pay directly for the full education of their offspring and should be condemned by all parents whether they be rich or poor.

Howard Perry, St James Place, Dringhouses, York