Nostalgia for languages
Sir: I was not at Winchester but at a small (local authority) co-educational grammar school in the provinces, yet I too well remember the German songs we learned and sung. This was probably a few years before Simon Courtauld (Take me to your lieder', 22/29 December), but I believe one of our texts was edited by L. J. Russon. `Die Lorelei' remains as a poignant mem- ory of 1945, as do `Ich hatt' einen Kamer- aden', 'Stifle Nacht' and 'Lillie Marlene' (in German).
What Mr Courtauld's article made me also nostalgic about was the high standard of modern languages at our school, suffi- ciently high to send on many students to university honours degrees. Such a school taught (to predominantly working-class children) three languages, including Latin, and many of the linguists it produced later taught not only in universities and colleges but also children in independent schools. When I look at the standard of linguistic education in most state secondary schools now I shudder not with nostalgia but with horror. And what about a 'National Curri- culum' which insists on science and tech- nology, but not on clever children learning Latin, French and German at least, if not Russian and Greek? Alas, most of their parents cannot afford to send them to
`Clean your glasses?'
Winchester, though they may hope for an `assisted place' so that they may be taught by the children and grandchildren of the pupils of the old 'free' grammar schools.
Is there nobody out there in the Con- servative Party who wants to bring gram- mar schools back? Perhaps George Wal- den does, since he seems just about the only MP with an interest in real education.
June Benn
113 Mycenae Road, London SE3
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