48 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE.—1918. 
to stand the strain of a secondary education; in the case of girls, how- 
ever, it is sometimes mentioned that home duties after school hours, or 
long journeys home (either by train or bicycle), impose a strain which 
prevents them from obtaining the full advantage of a secondary school 
life. 
Games and Corporate Life. 
In schools with a large proportion of ex-elementary pupils there is, 
of course, no difficulty ; some of the other schools report that the free- 
placers keep themselves too much to themselves—it is never mentioned 
that the fee-paying pupils keep themselves apart from the others, but 
this possibility must not be lost sight of. Speaking generally, free- 
placers seem to join in the games and corporate life of the school as far 
as their journey home and financial considerations allow.—(See under 
‘ Finance.’) 
Ability. 
Opinions as to the ability of free-placers vary much; in schools 
where the percentage of ex-elementary pupils is high they are generally 
said to be above the average. In schools with a smaller percentage 
of ex-elementary pupils the opinion is less complimentary, and the 
following complaints have been received :— 
(1) The average ability is satisfactory, but they reach the limit of 
their capacity for advanced work sooner than do the others. 
(2) A considerable number are quite unfit to benefit from a 
secondary education. 
(3) The competitive examination that is held fails to discover the 
best candidates ; this is partly due to the essential difference between the 
curricula of the elementary and secondary schools; the mere fact 
that the children can write neatly and sum correctly is no proof that 
they can benefit from the study of languages and mathematics. 
Industry. 
A very few complaints have been received under this head ; and those 
few will be considered under the paragraph ‘ Tenure and Finance.’ 
Character. 
A number of complaints have been received respecting the moral 
attitude of free-place holders, especially in regard to their ideas of 
school honour. Some schools report a considerable improvement in this 
respect during their secondary education. Other and less frequent 
complaints are:— 
(1) Lack of esprit de corps ; (4) Bad manners; 
(2) Want of ambition ; (5) Lack of modesty (from a girls’ 
(3) Want of personal cleanliness. school). 
It is probable, however, that hardly any of these complaints can be 
urged against the free-place holders per se. 
Curriculum. 
The incorporation of free-place holders with the class organisation 
of schools is often attended with difficulty, especially in schools where 
