ENGLISH is a living language. It changes by degree or polarity with every generation and, often, between fads and fashions too.

Long may that happen, even though - for many people - it's still one of our nation's hidden treasures.

It's reassuring, then, to report today that the standard of literacy among primary school students in Worcestershire is rising.

Hard work in the classroom is finding a tangible reward, but the county's still chasing a level above the national average, and our teachers can't produce the next step up by themselves.

It's clear that maintaining progress will require parents to play their part at home as well.

We're not suggesting that children should give up their diet of evening entertainment completely, but finding themselves in the running for a better job in years hence - never mind adding to a life skill - will hinge on reading and writing more than an extended dose of Playstation or Pokemon cartoon.

Twenty minutes a day outside the classroom will reap huge dividends in a life which still seems so far away. Yet how many parents can honestly claim to be making that contribution?

We're confident there will be many people who don't see the purpose in that. But there's every reason.

Most of us would be aghast if we took our car for service and found the mechanic wondering what a spark-plug was, what it did and where it went.

Yet millions of us struggle with the principle and placing of a comma, not to mention a semi-colon, and so on. Powerful components all. Let's all help to change that.

FIRST Leslie Law, now Simon Archer. Two Worcestershire Olympic hopefuls, two Olympic medals. Four dreams still to go.