What Kind of School ?
Si.- Like Mr. Smith (Letters. February 25). I am a sixth-former. hut at a public school, which is faced with a similar 'bogy,' that of integration into the state system. But it is quite obvious that the majority of people here will welcome the changes, and informed opinion suggests that they are not only inevitable, but very necessary. We do not look to the Conservative party to preserve this 'vital institution': instead, we look to Sir Edward Boyle and other Tory radicals to follow Mr. Crosland's policy, not of abolishing the school, but, of opening up its facilities to the whole populace, instead of the financially privileged few.
One can only hope that Mr. Smith's self-satisfied views are atypical of those held in grammar schools. Everyone accepts that both public and grammar schools are good and vital institutions, but the processes by which they select their intake are highly questionable. By preserving the educational status quo, we are depriving a large percentage of the population of good educational facilities. This country is wasting its talent, at a time when it is desperately needed. Thank heavens there are some Tories, like Sir Edward Boyle. who have the courage to speak out for educational reform, even though it may be clectorally unpopular. s. p. W. MILLIGAN The Close. Bradfield College. Berks
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