THE SCHOOL I work in has a well-deserved reputation for staying open when many other schools have to close (such as during the snow), because we know just how difficult it can be for parents and carers when they have to keep their child at home.

But the teachers in the NUT and ATL unions (including me) will be closing our school for tomorrow’s industrial action and putting these parents and carers to such trouble because we believe we’re being forced to do this to protect the education of our future pupils.

There are myths and mistruths being perpetrated about teacher pensions.

Since changes were made in 2007, teacher pensions are set to be fully self-funding.

So the Government’s new plans to change our pensions – to make us pay more and retire later – are a further tax on teachers, when we already have a two-year pay freeze, and inflation is more than 4%.

And, like the vast majority of the public, teachers didn’t cause the banking crisis. We weren’t out there looking for a quick buck while selling dodgy sub-prime mortgages, we were in our classrooms teaching our pupils. But I don’t see banks facing the problems our schools are having to deal with.

As a headteacher, the biggest problem I see is recruiting and keeping good teachers for the future.

People can make teacher jokes about the short school day and long holidays (neither of which are correct in reality), but good teaching today is very hard work.

Teaching not only requires high-level skills and dedication, it also requires resilience for the years of hard graft, including dealing with an immense amount of paperwork.

So when bright young teachers come into the profession, I want them to feel that the Government will value and support them, not make them look into working elsewhere. This is why I will, regrettably, be on strike.

Peter Gordon, headteacher, Hazel Court School, King’s Drive, Eastbourne

YES – 68 is too old to be made to teach children full time.

I recently retired as a deputy head and foundation class teacher of 30 four and five-year-olds in a large primary school.

I loved my job and know I was good at it. However, I do not see how I could have continued until I reached 68 as a teacher for this highly-active age group.

I feel parents of future young children I would have taught if I had continued would agree with me.

I would have found it impossible to find a job at my age in another school as I was at the top of my pay scale as a class teacher and had been for a number of years.

Schools don’t employ new, expensive older teachers.

I believe most teachers would find it hard to teach until 68 and, by making this the compulsory age, would be detrimental to the education of the youth of today.

Finally, I must comment on A Gumbrill’s point (Letters June 23) in which he states “retirement is when you can’t bend over any more because your back has had it”.

Come in to a foundation or key stage one class, where the table height is below your knee and where you need to bend down to enter the role play area. Children work a great deal at floor level too.

My back went years before I retired!

Jill Davies, Hillside Way, Brighton