IT has been reported that Jenny Gilruth, the Education Secretary, aims “to come to a set of conclusions on the practical action needed to make progress” with stopping the increase in pupil violence. I wonder what that will ever be?

There are two main causes of schools suffering from violence in all its hideous forms. The first is an insufficient supply of youth clubs where young people can find freedom in that priceless space between school and home.

READ MORE: Teachers warn of 'significant amount of violence' in Scottish schools

The second is rooted in the consequences of starting school before seven or eight years old. That antiquated occurrence – rare in the rest of the world nowadays – is a cause of artificial pressures imposed needlessly by the current education system. It denies children the right to learn through the freedom of play, as a look at the website of the charity Upstart Scotland will testify.

I think the young people themselves might agree with me!

David Ashford
Isleornsay, Isle of Skye