SIR - I cannot be the only person who thinks it is a bit odd to spend hours and hours of classroom time preparing for and then performing fake marriage ceremonies between five-year-old primary school children ("They're wed", March 21).

Every time I hear about this annual spate of marital enactments in our schools, I wonder how the children of unmarried couples are affected? What do the children who may never have seen one of their parents think about it all? And the several children of divorcees - what are they feeling as their school bows down to idolise a particular type of ceremony as the ultimate romantic achievement and the only good and pure way to live?

Also, there may very well be a child in the "congregation" whose burgeoning conception of romance will eventually blossom into homosexuality. Most people know whether they want "girlfriends" or "boyfriends" from a fairly young age, including many gay people, despite all the pressures to the contrary.

Perhaps such a child, whose nascent romantic attraction is already jarring horribly with the social norms around them, will even be made the "bride" or "groom" in this weird game. Being forced to act out the contradiction of their unspoken feelings can only be a troubling, confusing, alienating experience.

BOB CHURCHILL,

Worcester.