Science in National Education 



liberal in scope, and therefore making provision 

 for varieties of aptitude. No country can afford 

 to concentrate its whole efforts upon the clever 

 boys : our aim must be to develop every single 

 unit, as far as is possible to him, into an intelligent 

 and efficient member of the body politic. No one 

 who is acquainted with the average English school- 

 boy can doubt that intellectually he is not a success. 

 It is high time that our methods were revised." 

 The failure in kindling intellectual interests, of 

 which complaint has recently been made by Mr. 

 Arthur Benson and others, speaking with long 

 experience of the Public Schools, may be traced 

 back to its root here. There are other causes, 

 but the cramped, over-specialised, and unsuitable 

 curriculum of the preparatory schools is the chief 

 one ; and the fault lies with the entrance and 

 scholarship examinations at the Public Schools. 

 In November 1905 the Committee of the Associa- 

 tion of Preparatory Schools met to consider certain 

 questions submitted to them by the Headmasters 

 of Eton and Winchester. The first question was, 

 " How far would the postponement of Greek in 

 Public School entrance examinations (not scholar- 

 ship examinations) afford relief to preparatory 

 schools ? " The answer was that " the relief 

 afforded would be about six and a half hours 

 per week (in the upper forms) if Greek were 

 dropped." The second question was, " How 

 does the high standard of classics demanded for 

 scholarship examinations affect the curriculum of 

 non-scholars ? " The answer was : (a) The higher 



