May 9, 1889] 



NATURE 



43 



THE EXAMINATIONS FOR WOOLWICH AND 

 SANDHURST. 



'X'HE revised Code for these examinations has at 

 -'■ length been published. It is to come into force 

 after January i, 1891. There is to be a preliminary exami- 

 nation in elementary Arithmetic, Euclid, Algebra, French 

 or German, writing English from dictation, elementary 

 Latin, Geometrical Drawing, and Geography, for which no 

 marks are given. We regret that as this examination 

 has now been extended till it includes nearly all the main 

 subjects of a modern education, an elementary know- 

 ledge of some branch of science is not also required. 

 There is also to be a further examination for those who 

 pass the preliminary, for which the following Code has 

 been adopted : — 



Class I. — Obligatory. 



Mathematics (for Woolwich) ... 3000 Marks 



,, (for Sandhurst) ... 2500 ,, 



Latin ... ... ... ... 2000 ,, 



French or German ... ... 2000 ,, 



Class II. — Any two Subjects may be taken np. 



Higher Mathematics ... ... 2000 Marks 



German or French ... ... 2000 ,, 



Greek ... ... ... ... 2coo j ,. 



English History ... ... ... 2000 ,, 



Chemistry ... ... ... ... 2000 ,, 



Physics ... 2000 ,, 



Physical Geography and Geology 2000 ,, 



Class III. — All may he taken. 



English Composition 

 Freehand Drawing 

 Geometrical Drawing 



500 Marks 

 500 ,, 

 1000 ,, 



Notwithstanding the relative positions of science and 

 Latin — which seem indefensible in regard to the 

 Woolwich Cadets— this Code of marks is decidedly 

 better than that which was the subject of so much 

 adverse criticism in the early months of last year. In 

 the first place, the allotment of marks which had such 

 disastrous effects when adopted a few years ago in the 

 Sandhurst competitions is at length abandoned, and 

 candidates will no longer be at any disadvantage in this 

 respect if they offer themselves for examination in such 

 subjects as science, history, or Greek. 



In the second place, it will now be possible for candi- 

 dates to offer Greek or history, together with a branch of 

 science, or to offer both chemistry and physics. In the 

 case of some candidates this may prove a considerable 

 advantage ; though the fact that the obligatory and 

 advanced mathematics can to some extent be studied 

 concurrently may probably induce a large proportion to 

 select the latter from Class II. 



Thirdly, the better position that was claimed for expe- 

 rimental sciences in the Woolwich competition has now 

 also been given to these subjects in the Sandhurst 

 examination. 



At first sight it may appear, after all that has been said 

 and done, that the position of the experimental sciences 

 as members of Class 11. is not very splendid. It is 

 therefore worth while to point out, lest it should be over- 

 looked by teachers, that chemistry and physics are so 

 important in the curriculum at the Royal Military Aca- 

 demy, that it will be greatly to the advantage of candidates 

 for the scientific branches to study and offer one of these 

 subjects, now their prospects of success will no longer be 

 diminished by doing so. Hence, as a whole, the scheme 

 for selecting and educating cadets for the Engineers 

 and Artillery is now reasonably favourable for those who 

 exhibit an aptitude for the experimental branches of 



science. We think this will soon be recognized by the 

 candidates themselves, and that those who are interested 

 in the science of our public schools will also quickly per- 

 ceive the importance of the changes that have been 

 secured in the face of very considerable difficulties by the 

 action of Sir Henry Roscoe and the other scientific 

 members of the House of Commons. 



Altogether, therefore, it may decidedly be said that 

 the authorities at the War Office are to be congratulated 

 on the result of their consultations with Sir Henry Roscoe 

 and other educational authorities. The new Code is not 

 ideal. It does not fully recognize the importance of 

 natural science in modern education, and it is to be 

 feared that it will lengthen the examination to some 

 extent. But, if it be fairly carried out, scientific candi- 

 dates will not in future be placed at any great disadvant- 

 age, as compared with those who have studied other 

 subjects, in the examinations for admission to either 

 branch of the Army. In regard to this last point, how- 

 ever, it would be well if the Civil Service Commission 

 took steps to remove the blot in their system of conduct- 

 ing public competitive examinations to which attention 

 was called, some years ago, by Sir Lyon Playfair, in his 

 Presidential Address to the British Association. We 

 allude to the irregularity with which marks are awarded 

 for the various subjects at more than one of these exami- 

 nations. These irregularities are still unduly large. We 

 have before us an account of the marks given in six 

 examinations for Woolwich, taken at random during the 

 years 1884-88, and it appears that, at these examinations, 

 successful candidates who have offered French, German, 

 Greek, and experimental science have been given, on an 

 average, 38, 35, 29, and 28 per cent, of the allotted maxi- 

 mum marks. A successful candidate offering Greek and 

 science would, on an average, have obtained 1154 out of 

 the maximum of 2000 ; whilst one offering French and 

 German would have been given 1491 out of the same 

 maximum. A similar tale is told by the highest marks 

 awarded in the respective subjects. It will scarcely be 

 contended that, on the whole, the superior teaching of 

 modern languages, as compared with that of Greek and 

 science, justifies this. It is perhaps too much to hope 

 for absolutely equal rates of marking, as between different 

 subjects at each separate examination. But we do not 

 think that during such considerable periods of time the 

 variations should be so great as they have been, especially 

 in the case of subjects taken up by fairly large proportions 

 of the candidates. Such variations do real harm by 

 encouraging the mark-hunter, who is ever on the alert, 

 and by artificially stimulating the favoured subjects at the 

 expense of others of importance. 



We understand that the examiners are not to be 

 blamed for this state of things, but rather that the Civil 

 Service Commissioners are directly responsible. For it 

 is stated by Mr. Oscar Browning, in the Journal of 

 Education for April, that the examiners *' receive a paper 

 as a model which they are told to copy as exactly as 

 possible. They are informed of the average of marks 

 given at the last examination, and they are enjoined to 

 adhere to the standard with special care." If this goes 

 on year after year, as seems to be implied, it is difficult 

 to see how any code of marks can secure a fair examina- 

 tion. If the candidates who offered any subject were 

 hardly treated in 1888, the chances are that those who 

 offer the same subject in 1889 will also suffer hardness. 

 For if the candidates in that subject be better in i88» 

 than they were in 1888 they will be relatively still more 

 hardly treated. If of similar calibre they will be treated 

 equally badly. Only if they happen to be inferior will 

 they stand at an advantage. 



If the system of examining be as it is represented, it is- 

 high time that it should be revised by those who are- 

 responsible for it. 



