Outdated obsession

Peter Lampl suggests Britain is being left behind in the science race (Soapbox, THES , October 24). In saying that Oxford's chemistry department has no Nobel prizewinners on the premises, he implies that Britain cannot retain such people. Sussex University has two laureates on campus and in its 40 years has provided half-a-dozen winners. The obsession with being British born is outdated. About a quarter of all Nobels in economics have gone to former staff or students of the London School of Economics; only a handful were British born. Does this lessen LSE's achievement or the international impact of British education?

Martin Collins
London E7