IT is a shocking statistic: almost a quarter of York's citizens have no formal qualifications.

According to new research, no fewer than 33,000 people aged 16 to 74 have failed to gain any academic success.

City education campaigner Nick Seaton has suggested this is evidence that our education service has not been performing as well as it should.

Andrew Cambridge of the York-based employment and learning advice service Future Prospects has also expressed concern, as has Len Cruddas, chief executive of the York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.

Mr Cruddas offers some words of comfort when he points out that the figure refers to qualifications, rather than skills; and it is true that for most employers relevant skills are at least as important as GCSEs and similar academic qualifications.

But we remain concerned that so many people appear not to have scored sufficient examination success to prove themselves both literate and numerate. Time and time again, nationally, employers have bemoaned the low standards of both English and mathematics among their recruits, and these statistics seem to suggest that there is still plenty of room for improvement in our classrooms.

And doing well at work is only part of the story.

The abilities to spell and add up are important in many areas of life, not just in the workplace; and they are not the only advantages to be gained from a successful education.

It is a sad thought that so many people in York appear to have missed out on the broadened horizons that can flow from success at school.

We hope that the strategic plans that will be drawn up from this research will succeed in ensuring future generations are not held back in such a way.