NATURE 



189 



THURSDAY, JUNE 



SCIENCE AND THE WOOLWICH AND 

 SANDHURST EX AM IN A TIONS 



IT will be known to most readers of Nature that after 

 1884 considerable changes will be made in the various 

 subjects in the examinations for admission to Sandhurst, 

 and it is generally understood that an extension of similar 

 changes to the examination for Woolwich is in contem- 

 plation. When these changes were announced, those 

 interested in the matter at once saw that one of their chief 

 effects would be to greatly discourage science teaching in 

 our schools, &c, in consequence of the extremely low marks 

 ■ illotted to it under the new scheme. Representations 

 were made on the subject at the War Office by the Pre- 

 sident of the Royal Society, and subsequently it was stated 

 in the House of Lords, in reply to a question put by Lord 

 Salisbury, that the final position of the subjects is still 

 under consideration. As there is every reason to suppose 

 that the object of the War Office authorities is to secure 

 as good an examination as possible, and as they can have 

 no possible reason for wishing to discourage scientific 

 candidates only because they are scientific, it would 

 seem that the present is a favourable opportunity for 

 bringing the subject into public notice. The following 

 are perhaps the most important points in connection with 

 it: — 



1. How far the choice of subjects made by the candi- 

 dates has hitherto been affected by the marks allotted to 

 them, and hence in what degree the new regulations or 

 any similar regulations will influence science studies in 

 our public schools. 



2. How far it is true that science subjects have been good (?) 

 cram subjects, since from the discussion in the House of 

 Lords it appears to be considered by the War Office 

 authorities that they have been good cram subjects. 



3. To what extent the subjects examined and their 

 grouping is at present satisfactory, and in what respects 

 they would be better for amendment. 



4. Whether the standard of the examination is, as has 

 been urged by some, too high. 



In the consideration of 1 and 2 the statistics of past 

 examinations will give much help ; 3 and 4 are, no doubt, 

 to a greater degree matters of opinion. 



I. As the result of tabulating the proportions of the suc- 

 cessful candidates who have selected each subject in the 

 competitions for entrance into Woolwich and Sandhurst 

 during the years 1880, 1S81, 1882, 1S83, very interesting 

 information has been arrived at, which is given in a con- 

 densed form in the tables below. 



Only the selections made by successful candidates have 

 been considered, for on the whole they will show best 

 which subjects have been most conducive to success. And 

 as the marks allotted to the subjects are different in the 

 two examinations, they afford a good criterion by which 

 to judge in what way marks have during the last four 

 years affected the selection of subjects. Compulsory sub- 

 jects are not included. The percentages relating to Wool- 

 wich are calculated from data which include all the 

 examinations in the years 1880, 1881, 1882, 1883. Those 

 Vol. xxx. — No. 765 



concerning Sandhurst are from data not quite so com- 

 plete, but, as the larger tables from which these are taken 

 exhibit considerable regularity, this is not of material 

 importance. 



The influence of the maximum marks allotted to the 

 subjects is perceptible at a glance. The increased marks 

 given 'or mathematics in the Woolwich competition raises 

 the proportion of those who take up that subject from 70 

 per cent at Sandhurst to 97 per cent, at Woolwich. Simi- 

 larly English and Latin are selected by 60 per cent, and 

 52 per cent, at Woolwich, where the maximum is 2000, 

 against 91 per cent, and 73 per cent, at Sandhurst, where 

 the maximum is 3000. And Greek, German, and Experi- 

 mental Science are taking 29 per cent., 46 per cent., and 22 

 percent, at Woolwich, where there is the same mark as for 

 English and Latin, against 22 per cent., 25 per cent., and 

 8 per cent, at Sandhurst, where English and Latin have 

 the higher mark of 3000, and the others only 2000. The 

 positions of French is peculiar, but we observe the rela- 

 tively better marks given in the Woolwich competition ■ 

 has its effect, though there is less room for much increase. 

 The selection of French by so large a proportion of the 

 successful candidates both at Sandhurst and Woolwich, 

 is probably largely due to the circumstance that 

 taught in nearly all divisions of our schools, and that it 

 is often begun earlier than Greek, German, and scii 

 so that when candidates select the subjects they will study 

 for these competitions, they already very often have made- 

 some progress in French and much less in the other sub- 

 jects. Statistics, however, seem to show that French is 

 more liberally marked than some of the others. 



In the remaining subject, General and Physical Geo- 

 graphy and Geology, there is a similar though smaller 

 increase in the number of candidates taking it at Wool- 

 wich examinations, where its mark value is higher than 

 at Sandhurst. This is just what the opinions of teachers 

 have foretold. They say to do poorly in a subject counting 

 3000 will pay so much better than to do well in one 

 counting only 1500, that in future nearly all candidati 

 will take up the four subjects which are to count 3000 : 

 some who are very weak in one of these will take one of 

 those marked 2000 ; and the rest of the subjects, includ- 

 ing the science, they do not see their way to using at all. 

 Accordingly, science teachers, even in those school 

 where science is most valued, are already hearing pro- 

 posals to drop the regular science work hitherto done by 

 boys who are looking forward to joining the army, and to 

 substitute for it extra Latin. In other words, the new 



