Having recently visited quite a few secondary schools in Brighton and Hove, one thing has struck me on several occasions - there appears to be a noticeable lack in the use of the possessive apostrophe.

I would be the first to acknowledge language is constantly changing, with some words and phrases dying out and others taking their place.

I remember struggling with Shakespearean and Chaucerian English when I was studying for my A-levels. It was like trying to understand a foreign language.

I would also be the first to acknowledge I am getting more and more pedantic the older I get.

However, to my knowledge, the possessive apostrophe still exists - or does it?

In educational establishments I have seen "Boys Toilets", "Girls Toilets" and, indeed, at one headteacher's (please note possessive apostrophe) presentation "Students Voice".

Surely it should be "Boys' Toilets" (toilets of the boys) and "Girls' Toilets" (toilets of the girls).

I'm not sure what the headteacher meant, given that he didn't use an apostrophe, but I hazard a guess it was the voice of the students - in which case surely it should have been "Students' Voice".

Shall we all go back to school?

-Lynne Nicholls, Brighton