ONCE again a child has died because a teacher failed to understand that he was having an asthma attack and not just “playing up” to interrupt the lesson.

Nor was it just a bad cold. Asthma is a life-threatening disease which can usually be controlled by inhalation. Too often teachers have withheld the inhalers “until the end of the lesson” with tragic consequences. They should be trained to recognise serious conditions in their pupils, and how to deal with them.

Margaret Kafka, Belfry Court, Wigginton.