846 REPORT—1904. 
But the situation was complicated by the fact that the Universities of Oxford, 
Cambridge, and London stood on a separate footing, in that for many years they 
had held what were at least the nearest possible approach to school-leaving 
examinations. Frankly, it was necessary to consider the finances of the whole 
position, and this point the Consultative Committee had put completely on one 
side. The University of London, for instance, had been started on its new career 
with the magnificent endowment of 8,000/. a year, and it could not be forgotten 
that, even when only a reasonable fee was charged, examination carried out on a 
large scale was a profitable thing for the examining body. But it must not be 
supposed that he was not absolutely in favour of some such scheme as that pro- 
pounded by the Consultative Committee. 
Mr. Gray, M.P., said that no educational proposal more far-reaching than this 
of the Consultative Committee of the Board of Education had been made for many 
years. It would revolutionise the secondary schools of the country, and was 
equivalent to a large addition to the length of the school life of the children. The 
Consultative Committee was bound to have regard to the interests of the children 
rather than to the fees of any university. If the examination of the university 
were adapted to the curriculum of the school examined, and if the teaching staff of 
the school were allowed to play a large part in the examination, the influence of 
the reform was sure to be beneficial. It was especially necessary to define the 
sort of examination to be insisted on in view of the fact that the new local educa- 
tion authorities, who were to have charge of secondary education, would certainly 
insist on some examination test as a qualification for their grant. 
The Rey. R. D. Swallow noticed that the scheme did not seem to recognise 
the two classes of secondary schools which were coming into existence. Side by 
side with the older endowed schools there were springing up everywhere new 
secondary schools which were only revived Cockerton schools, and the scheme 
was inappropriate for these. He said that though the Headmasters’ Association 
had not had time to consider the proposals of the Consultative Committee, he could 
assert that it was strongly opposed to the examinations for leaving certificates 
being left in the hands of a central board, but it deprecated no less strongly the 
idea, which was gaining ground, of attaching schools to special universities, which 
would be a first step to the denationalisation of Oxford and Cambridge. 
Dr. Mangold agreed to the general principles laid down in the paper which 
had been read. He emphasised the importance of examining the whole career of 
candidates, and not depending on one performance only. Germany is satisfied 
with this feature of her leaving examinations, and he had no doubt that the 
system would prove a success in this country. 
Principal Griffiths said that the danger of a central board was that it became 
too much involved in routine and red-tape. He hoped that the central board 
proposed by the Consultative Committee would be a purely advisory and inspect- 
ing body, and not one charged with executive responsibility. At present the new 
education authorities regarded the teachers with some distrust. They would not 
readily allow the teachers to take their proper place in the conduct of examina- 
tions, but gave a heart-breaking attention to the exact number of marks earned 
by candidates. Any new scheme should be directed to subordinating the effect 
of direct examination marks and increasing the importance of teachers’ reports. 
The chief business of educationists at present was to educate the new local educa- 
tion authorities. 
Sir Oliver Lodge said that the departure heralded in the Report of the 
Consultative Committee was allied to one which the Birmingham University 
intended to put in practice. They proposed there to hold school examinations in 
which the teachers should be asked to co-operate, and in which the certificates 
should be awarded in consultation with the teachers. In time all the universities 
would no doubt recognise each other's results, for at present the multiplicity of 
examinations was intolerable, and the preparation for purely external examination 
was not good for methods of teaching. The business of the university or educa- 
tional centre of the district was simply to unify the standard of examination as 
much as possible. The school teacher might be left to determine the relative 
