70 REPORTS ON THE STATE OF SCIENCE, ETC. 
a Labour Bureau which was for some time entirely in their hands, and worked 
by means of offering jobs to contractors and firms composed of boys. 
‘(b) Property Court.—To inculcate a greater respect for School property, a 
Court was instituted to try offenders, presided over by the Head Girl. The 
whole assembly acted as jury, and punishment was left entirely in the hands 
of the judge. j 
‘4. As many of the Departments of School organisation as possible are cither 
partially or entirely in the hands of the boys and girls. They run their own 
Debating Society, Pocket Money Accounts, &c., &c., and assist in the running 
of the Library, Magazine, Sports, School Society, &c. On three mornings in 
the week the three Upper Forms are each responsible for the Chapel Service. 
GENERAL REMARKS ON SELF-GOVERNMENT. 
‘ Apart from particular experiments, the system usually adopted and generally 
approved is that of practical Self-Government, with due deference to authority 
and experience. It is held that, apart from other considerations, in a School 
which aims at a full curriculum and the encouragement of a width of artistic 
and literary interest, the boys and girls have not the time necessary for the 
complete organisation of any more than minor departments of School life, 
without undue interference with more important claims on their energies. 
But it is considered that, just as any effective discipline must be based on 
self-discipline, so Self-Government is the highest ideal to be aimed at in School 
organisation, and, with increasing experience and the development of greater 
freedom, it is hoped that the system may be considerably extended. One of 
the next experiments to be attempted will be Self-Government in a Form.’ 
(Signed) H. W. Hows (Second Master). 
CuRRENT EVENTs. 
‘We have realised more than ever this term that a proper understanding 
of modern affairs is not only essential for anyone who wishes to keep abreast 
of the times, but indispensable also for an adequate appreciation of the meaning 
of History. For a casual glance at any daily paper shows that History of 
the first importance is being enacted every day of our lives. The period of 
History through which we are passing at the present moment is at least as 
important as any period recorded in our History books. And it is, we maintain, 
only by understanding contemporary History that we can gain a right view 
of the History of the past. But the difficulties in the study of contemporary 
History are, first, that almost for the first time we realise that History is not 
the story of any one country or people, and the field of our study is nothing 
less than the whole world; and, second, that, whereas in studying the History 
of the past the sorting of the evidence has all been done for us, in the 
present the evidence is more abundant and confusing than ever before, and 
it is we who have to do the sorting. Now some attempt has been made during 
the war to draw attention to the significance of events by means of a weekly 
talk by a member of the staff. This method, however, besides putting an 
undue strain on what our American friends call the ‘‘ faculty,” failed to arouse 
much interest, and tended to defeat its own ends in that it encouraged boys 
and girls to feel that their newspaper reading was being done for them. The 
problem was to arouse interest and to ensure that everyone should make some 
attempt to study affairs for himself. 
‘Each Form was, therefore, offered a portion of the world for special study, 
and it soon became evident that the interest was there, and needed little 
arousing. It happened, fortunately, that every Form had a particular fancy. 
Form IV.a, Latin, for instance, would have none of Italy, and insisted on 
Russia. So that the world got itself split up willy-nilly as follows : The Sixth 
undertook the Balkans and the Near East; the Fifth, India and the Far East; 
V.8, Germany and Austria; the Remove (the Form where the budding politicians 
live), Home Affairs; 1V.a, Latin, Russia and Poland; IV.a, non-Latin, America; 
IV.s, Latin, France; IV.s, non-Latin, Italy; and, as further division was 
found impossible, the Staff undertook the Colonies. It was felt that the rest 
of the world might be overlooked unless some other country could justify its 
claim to be represented. Every effort was made to induce Forms to try to see: 
events as a whole through the eyes of their adopted country. 
