SECTIONAL TRANSACTIONS.—L. 499 
SECTION L.—_EDUCATIONAL SCIENCE. 
Thursday, September 24. 
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS by Sir CHARLES Grant Rosertson, C.V.O., on 
Educational Development ; 1831 and 1931; A Centenary Retrospect 
and a Forecast (see page 215). 
Dr. E. Detter.—London as a Pioneer in University Education. 
For reasons which can only be dimly guessed, and into which it is not necessary 
now to inquire, there was no university in the capital city until the nineteenth century, 
and it was not until the end of that century that the University of London ceased to 
be a purely examining body and assumed the functions of teaching and research which 
are properly the concerns of a university. 
It is desirable, therefore, not to limit this paper to the share of the university as 
a pioneer, but also to take into account the contributions of other bodies which were 
concerned with higher education before the creation of a ‘teaching’ university in 
1898. Most of these have subsequently taken their places as parts of the university. 
Among these are the medical schools where, before the days of ‘ scientific ’ medicine, 
important contributions were made toitsadvancement. University College, for exam- 
ple, which from the outset aspired to be a university (and was known for some time as 
“London University ’) was based on principles—e.g. freedom from tests—which have 
been accepted as commonplaces in other institutions in London and the provinces. It 
was an innovator in other respects ;- by the position it gave to pure and applied 
sciences and other subjects in its curriculum, the admission of women, &c. Bedford 
College was among the first of the institutions for higher education open to women. 
The Royal College of Science and the School of Mines (since incorporated in the 
Imperial College) were pioneers in the methods of teaching science and in the practical 
applications of science. The London School of Economics was an innovator in the 
social sciences. 
The University came into existence in 1836, and by reason of the political 
compromise which led to its foundation its activities were restricted to examinations 
for degrees—‘ to perform all the functions of the Examiners in the Senate House of 
Cambridge.’ Originally it was limited to students from University and King’s 
Colleges, but the list of institutions presenting candidates was rapidly extended, and 
in due course candidates (other than candidates in medicine) were examined 
irrespective of their training. This function is still discharged on the ‘external ’ 
side of the university. 
There are limits to the usefulness of a university whose functions are confined to 
examining, but examinations when wisely planned and skilfully conducted can have 
a potent influence for good. The London examination system was in many respects 
‘pioneer.’ From its beginnings the matriculation examination and the pass examina- 
tions have made considerable demands on candidates and exercised a great influence 
on schools and colleges. Many subjects were by this means first given university 
recognition. The possibility of obtaining degrees by ‘all sorts and conditions of 
men’ led to a new university class. The opening of degrees to women (1878) was a 
further step forward. 
The ‘examining’ University of London acted as a foster-mother to colleges in 
ee provinces until they had attained university status, and it still performs a similar 
office. 
The pioneer work of the University since its reconstitution in 1898 has taken, 
necessarily, a different form. It has, by the institution of new degrees and diplomas, 
given recognition to new branches of study, but it has also, by the creation of new 
chairs and departments, itself marked out new lines of development. In Medicine, 
Science, Oriental and European languages and the Social Sciences, several new 
departures of potentially great significance have been initiated. In post-graduate 
studies, which are likely to be of increasing importance in London, in History, Public 
Health and Medicine, some notable progress has been made, and the creation of speci- 
alized post-graduate institutes seems likely to be one of the most fruitful methods of 
development in the future. 
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