As a former hon assistant secretary to the Brighton, Hove and District Schools' Boxing Association,

I was interested to read correspondence about the sport in these pages.

We had one of the best organisations, certainly in Sussex but probably in England, and its demise in the early Seventies was a tragedy for many schoolboys in the area.

Queen's Park Secondary School, the then "home" of the sport, buzzed with the efforts of the many competitors from local primary and secondary schools.

The association's record was first-rate, with hundreds of boys plying their skills in a controlled and disciplined environment, which such a sport exacts.

There were no fatalities and every boxer was weighed meticulously and then medically examined on the day of the contest.

Bouts were conducted in silence and referees (schoolmasters and well qualified) were always alert to any problems, stopping contests when there was even a hint of unnecessary punishment.

Other officials, again mainly schoolmasters, acted in a highly professional way and in today's society, the association would have qualified for some prize for excellence.

When I read of the problems in our schools today, I will leave readers to guess my thoughts.

Finally, I should like to pay tribute to the work of the hon secretary, Mr RL Metcalfe MBE. "Met" came back from D-Day, qualified as a teacher and then led the association until it folded.

He devoted what must have been hundreds of hours to the organisation and has been doing so ever since to the young people of the city, particularly now through the Duke of Edinburgh's Award and the Brighton, Hove and District Schools' Rugby Association.

-John H Tolhurst, Lancing