Texting is the preferred method of communication among young people, with 72% of teenagers saying they text regularly and one in three sending more than a hundred texts per day. Unfortunately, however, very few youngsters seem able to communicate using grammatically correct sentences. They seem to think it 'gr8' that correct spelling is no longer considered necessary. Many local employers have complained that school-leavers have no idea how to communicate appropriately, whether face-to-face or in business letters. Many written job applications are phrased so poorly that they go straight in the bin. Mobile phones were banned in my daughter's school last year, a move which has proved fully justified. Since then test scores in English have improved. All schools need to introduce a similar ban.