14 JUNE 1930, Page 26

In the new addition to the To-day and To-morrow Series,

Eleutheros, or the Future of the Public Schools (Kegan Paul. 2s. 6d.), Mr. J. F. Roxburgh does not carry the discussion very much further. He makes the familiar assumption that the character training given by the public schools is all that can be desired, and that the only possible line of attack is on the intellectual side. Against this attack he puts forward very convincing arguments, though even here we think he is by no means conclusive. It is evident, however, from much recent correspondence, including that which has appeared in the Spectator, that this first assumption is by no means unchal- lenged. Mr. Roxburgh describes the education given at a public school as an attempt at the education of a free man, Eleutheros, placing its emphasis far more on what 1 is noble than on what is useful. It is precisely on this account that the public schools are now being challenged, and there is still the need for some champion who will defend the schools against their true critics. This book merely evades the issue.

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