Liz Beattie, a retired teacher, is urging the Professional Association of Teachers to delete the word "failure" from its language in dealing with schoolchildren. Instead, it should be replaced by "deferred success", she argues, because repeated failure in exams can damage the motivation of pupils and harm their enthusiasm to learn. Your objective is to think of other equally brilliant terms which could be applied to failures and losers, without harming their self-esteem. Your suggestions: lower-case grade A Maggie, uk hidden treasure elle, uk heteroconventionally-targeted attainment Chris R, UK Near achievers Chris Rayner, UK Keen to suggest the most improbable of answers. TB, Spain Hard of thinking. Paul Gitsham, Manchester, UK Increasing Improvability (for getting worse) Bas, London The bar was set too high Candace, New Jersey, US Maximally sub-optimal. Alexander Lewis Jones, UK Immeasurable ability Derek Behan, Blackburn,Lancs As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know we don't know. Unfortunately you tend towards the latter. They'll never get past the first sentence to realise that they've failed. Martin Hollywood, France Stupid = IQ-impaired ? HB, UK 'Successfully unsuccessful' or 'succeeding via an alternative route' Keith, South Yorkshire Academically Challenged? Richard York, UK Introverted triumph Esther Bucklee, Northwood mentally anorexic H, England Minimally exceptional Brian, Kent 'Analytically non-responsive' for 'hasn't a clue'? David Dee, Mozambique Hitler didn't lose World War II - he came second. Simon Robinson, UK Winners in waiting Catherine O, UK Defeat: 'a successful victoriously-challenged retrograde achievement' Kathryn Miles, Wales Relaxed attitude to winning. Doug, UK Realisable promise Mark Bohan, Dublin - http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4692463.stm :)