While I sympathise with and commend the pupils wishing to give support to the anti-war movement, they must learn to behave in a responsible manner.

We are a democracy with the dual benefits of freedom of speech and expression.

A properly organised protest would have been sanctioned by the headmaster provided he felt the safety of the pupils would not have been compromised.

I wonder who parents would have held responsible if one of the "future custodians of our world" had been injured?

The headteacher had suggested an alternative method of showing support but, as this would have involved some effort to organise a petition and did not involve skipping lessons, there was obviously no real appeal for the students.

-Steve Boucher, Windsor Close, Hove