OVERLAPPING BETWEEN SECONDARY AND OTHER EDUCATION. 345 
In secondary schools in general the pupils who proceed to the 
universities are not the normal product. They should be regarded as the 
exceptions, for whom something may be added to or adapted in the 
ordinary school course; the whole curriculum should not be directed to 
meet their special requirements to the detriment of the great majority 
of pupils. 
The normal course of a secondary school should be designed to meet 
the needs of the average pupil, and in the upper forms to give him the 
opportunity of leaving school with a real grasp of some departments of 
knowledge, complete so far as they go, and having a distinct relation to 
his future life in both its occupations and its leisure. 
RECOMMENDATIONS. 
After consideration of the evidence, the Committee is of opinion :— 
(1) That students should not be prohibited from taking the Matricu- 
lation Examination or its equivalent as soon as they are sixteen, but 
they should not ordinarily be allowed to enter a university for a degree 
course below the age of seventeen. 
(2) Universities should not provide instruction for the purpose of 
preparing candidates for matriculation. 
(3) Students for degree courses should not be admitted to universities 
or their constituent colleges until after they have passed the Matricula- 
tion Examination. ; 
(4) A university examination subsequent to matriculation should 
not be allowed to become a school examination. 
(5) There should be two school-leaving examinations conducted con- 
jointly by the universities or by a representative examining board :— 
(a) Suitable for pupils of about sixteen years of age. 
(b) Suitable for pupils between eighteen and nineteen years of age. 
The earlier examination (a), representing a good general education, 
and of the same standard as the present London Matriculation or similar 
examinations, should be accepted for matriculation and for admission to 
professional courses as those examinations are.at present. 
The later examination (b), of the same general standard as the Inter- 
mediate B.A. or B.Sc. examination of the University of London, but not 
necessarily of the same character or substance, should not be designed 
primarily for those who intend to proceed to a university, and should 
admit of some degree of specialisation. Under certain conditions, it 
might be accepted by universities as excusing students from any further 
examination between their entrance into the university and their degree 
examination. Only those pupils who have passed the more elementary 
examination (a) should be admitted to the higher examination. 
Note sy Siz Henry A. Miers. 
I have acted as Chairman of this Committee, which was suggested 
by my Presidential Address at Sheffield, and have been glad to assist in 
collecting the evidence upon which the Report is based ; but my position 
as Principal of the University of London prevents me from identifying 
myself in any way with the conclusions adopted in it. 
(Signed) H. A. Mimrs. 
