Scholarships for Dartmouth
A serious effort is being made to bring the Navy into line with the Army and Royal Air Force by insuring that future officers are drawn from all classes of the community, subject to the qualification of superior ability. Mr. Alexander an- nounced in the House of Commons last Tuesday that it is pro- posed to offer 3o scholarships a year to the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth to candidates from grant-aided secondary schools between r3 and 14 years of age. Scholarships will take the form of assistance, depending on the parents' income; towards the expenses of training and maintenance. The cadet will be supplied with the clothing required by him as a midshipman. A further 3o scholarships will be offered to boys not coming from grant-aided secondary schools who show the necessary ability in examination; and also three.to sons of ratings m ex-ratings. The examination will be competitive, and scholar- ships will only be awarded to candidates who reach a certain standard. It will be necessary to give careful study to rig character of the examination, since it is obvious that specialisa- tion in the preliminary preparation is out of the question fix thirteen-year-old boys, and cramming should not be encouraged. The oral - • urination will no doubt play an important part The success or failure of the experiment will lie largely in the hands of the existing Dartmouth cadets, and its important should be clearly put to them. Moreover, the scholarship bar may still need some financial help after they pass out et Dartmouth.
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