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You state (News in brief, THES, October 6) that "plans for a Welsh Bac(calaureate) get universal backing" based on a survey that was carried out by the Institute of Welsh Affairs.

Such enthusiasm might be tempered by the knowledge that it is in fact the Institute for Welsh Affairs that is responsible for pushing this scheme on an unsuspecting public, so it can hardly be considered likely to produce a balanced survey.

Welsh children are guaranteed to be disadvantaged by having forced on them a specific model that differs markedly from those in the rest of the United Kingdom. Your piece remarks that "most top research institutes" are refusing to change their entry criteria to accommodate even AS levels.

It would be foolish to impose an initiative such as the Welsh baccalaureate on all Welsh children whenit may not be accepted by research-led universities.

Douglas Kell

Institute of Biological Sciences University of Wales