You are about to leave school after spending six years as a student. Write a letter to the principal, expressing your candid views on the strengths and weak...

Model answer: formal letter

Boarding House 3,
Command Secondary School,
Jos.
10 July, 2025.

The Principal,
Command Secondary School,
Jos.

Dear Sir,

MY CANDID VIEWS ON THE SCHOOL AS I LEAVE

As I prepare to leave this school after six memorable years, I wish, with all respect, to share my honest views on its strengths and weaknesses and to offer a few suggestions for improvement.

The school has many strengths for which I am deeply grateful. First, the teaching staff are dedicated and hard-working, and it is largely because of them that our examination results are consistently excellent. Secondly, the school maintains high standards of discipline and moral training, so that students leave here well-behaved and responsible. Thirdly, the wide range of clubs and sports has helped to develop our talents and confidence.

All the same, there are weaknesses that deserve attention. The library is old and poorly stocked, so that we often lack current books for our research. The science laboratories, too, are short of equipment and chemicals, which limits our practical work. In addition, the water supply in the boarding house is unreliable, causing great discomfort to the students.

I therefore humbly suggest that the library be expanded and stocked with modern books, that the laboratories be properly equipped, and that a dependable water system be installed. These improvements would make an already good school even better.

I thank you and the entire staff for all that you have done for me, and I shall always be proud to be an old student of this great school.

Yours faithfully,
Daniel Yakubu.

Key features expected: formal-letter format; balanced mention of strengths and weaknesses; constructive suggestions; respectful, sincere tone; good paragraphing.