LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
[Correspondents are requested to keep their letters as brief as is reasonably possible. The most suitable length is that of one of our " News of the Week" paragraphs. Signed letters are given a preference over those bearing a pseudonym, and the latter must be accompanied by the name and address of the author, which will be treated as confidential.—Ed. THE SPECTATOR
LIGHT ON THE PREPARATORY SCHOOL
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—It is encouraging to find headmasters and others so touchy' on these points. The Headmaster of Stowe contradicts my statement that H.M. Inspectors have not seen the inside of the vast majority of preparatory schools, but on his own figures (which, by the way, are inaccurate) only 262 out of the 426 English schools belonging to the Incorporated Association of Preparatory Schools have been inspected, and he will hardly need me to remind him that this Association includes only the cream of such schools. Nobody knows how many preparatory schools are outside the Association.
The I.A.P.S. Secretary points out that heads of schools must possess a University degree or be a member of the Royal Society of Teachers : he does not explain what academic qualifications are demanded of those members. According to the Year Book (which may be wrong) 122 headmasters and joint-heads have no university degree.
The Secretary adds, loyally, that my contention that £5o a year is a common salary for graduates is " such a grotesque distortion of fact that it is hardly necessary even to refute it." I can only say that a friend of mine (B.A., London) has received notices of half a dozen posts carrying that or lower salaries. For confirmation may I refer him to the scholastic agencies ?
The Headmaster of the Leys School states that " at least one
of our Scholarships has been won each year by a Secondary School boy." Precisely. And the Leys is a pioneer in this respect. Scholarship-lists in The Times this week show no secondary school boy among those elected at Eton, Winchester and Uppingham—all intended by their founders for poor students ; only one at Repton and Tonbridge, none at Cran- brook. Of a total of 74 scholars at least 64 came from the expensive nurseries of the I.A.P.S. and only 2 from grant-aided schools.
Mr. Haworth asked me to inform him how to re-cast the exams. for scholarship and Common Entrance to Public Schools so that 13-year-old boys at grant-aided secondary schools could take them. This can be done only by a com- mittee of the Headmasters' Conference in consultation with inspectors and secondary-school headmasters. It may be hoped that the headmasters of Eton and Winchester, to say nothing of the experienced Mr. Roxburgh, will be willing to serve on the committee. Meanwhile, Floreat Llanaber !-
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