Newsom (1963)

Notes on the text
Preliminary pages Membership, Contents, Introduction, Principal recommendations

Part 1 Findings
Chapter 1 Education for all
Chapter 2 The pupils, the schools, the problems
Chapter 3 Education in the slums
Chapter 4 Objectives
Chapter 5 Finding approaches
Chapter 6 The school day, homework, extra-curricular activities
Chapter 7 Spiritual and moral development
Chapter 8 The school community
Chapter 9 Going out into the world
Chapter 10 Examinations and assessments
Chapter 11 Building for the future
Chapter 12 The teachers needed

Part 2 The teaching situation
Chapter 13 What should secondary imply?
Chapter 14 An education that makes sense
Chapter 15 Attainments and achievement
Chapter 16 The subjects and the curriculum
Chapter 17 The practical subjects
Chapter 18 Science and mathematics
Chapter 19 The humanities
Chapter 20 School organisation and staff deployment

Part 3 What the survey shows
Chapter 21 The 1961 survey
Chapter 22 The boys and girls
Chapter 23 The work they do
Chapter 24 The men and women who teach them
Chapter 25 The schools they go to

Acknowledgements

Appendix I List of witnesses
Appendix II Sex education
Appendix III Deployment of teachers
Appendix IV Letter to Minister on teacher training
Appendix V Statistical detail

Index

A report of the Central Advisory Council for Education (England)

London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office 1963
© Crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Queen's Printer for Scotland.

Chapter 22 The boys and girls
[pages 194 - 232]

564. Who are the average and below-average pupils of our terms of reference? Are they distinguishable except by their record of success and failure in school work? Are their backgrounds and their needs much the same or markedly different? The 1961 survey and the National Service survey carried out for the Council's report on Fifteen to Eighteen provide information which has been helpful in clearing our minds on these and similar questions. We have used these surveys as a source from which we have drawn the material for portraits or profiles of imaginary boys and girls who may be taken to represent the upper, middle and lower reaches of the modern school population at the age of fourteen. All are between 14 and 15 years of age - the average age is 14 years, 8 months. We have unoriginally named them Brown, Jones and Robinson. More precisely. Brown stands for all those in modern schools who score 27 or more on the reading test; whose average score is very close to the score on the ninetieth percentile and who form roughly the top quarter in ability of modern school pupils. Similarly Jones stands for all those whose scores are between 18 and 26; whose average score is close to that on the fiftieth percentile, and who form the two middle quarters of the age group. Robinson stands for those who scored 17 or less; whose average score is close to that on the tenth percentile and who provide the bottom quarter in ability. These definitions are shown graphically in diagrams 8A and 8B. Brown, Jones and Robinson are, then, primarily shorthand terms to avoid the repetition of lengthy definitions. They also underline the fact that, although we are using percentages, we are still dealing with human beings.

565. The information we have about the boys and girls in the sample is limited to certain questions of fact. We know a little about their physique, their family background, where they live, their school work and their social life. We know nothing about the imponderables which are ultimately much more important - the personal characteristics which make them happy or discontented, loved or disliked, useful members of the community or a drag on society. In the following paragraphs boys and girls are dealt with separately and in that order. These generalised descriptions are to be found in the three 'B' sections.

566. Each 'B' section is preceded by accounts supplied by their schools of three individual boys or girls who were included in the sample. Names have been changed. These boys and girls have been chosen to give some idea of how great may be the difference between human beings who are rightly included for teaching purposes in the same classification. The contrast between the individual case histories in the three 'A' sections and the generalised profiles which follow them in the 'B' sections illustrates the risks involved in generalising from limited personal experience.

I. 'BROWN' OR THE TOP QUARTER IN ABILITY

A. THREE REAL PEOPLE

567. Jim's father is a mechanic and has one other child, a girl. Apart from physical education, Jim's work was good. He was a prefect, a member of the cricket club, Young Farmers' Club and a good actor in the dramatic society. He earned extra pocket money as an errand boy. He is now at a technical college doing a one year full-time course and is hoping to get an engineering apprenticeship in the merchant navy. He is a bright, pleasant, intelligent boy, rather short and light for his age. His attendance was almost perfect - he only missed school on five half-days in his third year. He left school as soon as he was entitled to.

568. Tom's father, a works manager, thought of sending his son to a private school, but found that boys were entering his firm having passed GCE examinations in secondary modern schools. As a result he rented accommodation so that his boy could come to us. We found that the boy had an immense fund of general knowledge, but was below standard in most basic attainments. At the end of the second year he still had difficulty with mental arithmetic and basic English skills. We began to wonder whether we were expecting too much from him, but the educational psychologist assessed him as 'above average intelligence'. Individual coaching in English and arithmetic was arranged. In the meantime Tom was featuring in school plays and played in the junior rugger side. In the fourth year, following great perseverance, a marked advance was made. In the autumn of 1962 he obtained Group One passes in GCE in chemistry and history - and lower level passes in language and literature. At this moment he is taking five more subjects - including physics and maths.

He has been recommended for a Sixth Form Scholarship at an independent school open to outstanding boys from secondary modern schools. He is a prominent member of the school sailing club and has his own boat. He is Deputy Head Boy.

569. Susan's father is a farm foreman. She is a tall girl, one of four children, and now works in an accountant's office. She was a prefect for two years and interested in all her school work and in many school activities - the dancing club, the swimming club, the choir, the record group and the stamp club. She was in the hockey eleven and keen on athletics. She stayed for a fifth year and has taken GCE in English.

B. TWO IMAGINARY CHARACTERS

DESCRIPTION OF JOHN BROWN

570. His physique
John Brown is probably rather above average height for his age of 14 years 8 months, 5 ft. 5 ins. [1.65m] or a fraction more, well-built and weighing about 8st. 7 Ibs. [53.55kg], which is again a few pounds more than the average. He is likely to be a week or so older than most of the other boys who entered the school at the same time.

571. His family
There is well above an even chance that John Brown's father is a skilled manual worker; in the general population as a whole there is a slightly less than even chance that a man will be in this category. About one in five of all the Browns have fathers who are white collar workers; one in four are the sons of semi-skilled or unskilled workers. The non-manual workers are a little under-represented; the unskilled and semi-skilled are in about the usual proportion. Rather less than a third of the Browns have three or more brothers or sisters; the same proportion have just one brother or sister, while one in six is an only child. Really large families are rare. There are very few Browns on the free dinner list.

572. Where he lives
There are Browns, of course, in every part of England; but there is a marked tendency for them to congregate in London and the Home Counties. Similarly, the kind of school in which to start looking for John Brown would be one serving a neighbourhood where a fair proportion of owner-occupied homes send their children to the modern school. But there is no neighbourhood, however depressing, in which there are no Browns. They account for 12 per cent of the pupils in the special group of schools in slums, though of course they are disproportionately few there and in the 'problem areas' generally. In the school with the most Browns they account for half the fourth year boys; in the school with fewest, they form only six per cent.

Table 6 Profile of the Brown boys

573. His school work generally
It would be surprising if John Brown's work was not well above average since the only qualification for being Brown is to do well on a test which demands native wit sharpened by school work. Clearly a good many Browns have improved on their position in the 'eleven plus'. Indeed, at fourteen John Brown has done better than a fifth of the boys in grammar schools. It is worth noting that a quarter of the Browns managed to get their attainments up to this level, which is a national one, although they were in schools which set them no regular homework.

574. What examinations will he take? When will he leave school?
If Brown attends a school where external examinations are taken at the end of the fourth year, he is more than likely to be a candidate - over four fifths are. But only just over half the Browns have this opportunity.

Nearly half the Browns are likely to stay on for a fifth year. But, since about a third of them are pupils in schools which have no fifth year courses, it is safe to say that, when Brown is offered the chance, he is almost certain to take it. At the end of that year he will in all probability become a candidate for an external examination, probably the GCE at Ordinary level, very likely in four subjects.

575. His attitude to school
One cannot quite rule out the possibility that John Brown will be 'agin the government', but it is exceedingly unlikely - only two per cent of the Browns are noted as being especially difficult in their attitude to discipline, while three quarters are particularly cooperative. Truancy, or unjustified absence, is hardly a problem: only three per cent are reported as troublesome in this respect, while the total amount of school work that is missed each year by absence for any reason is likely to be less than a fortnight's.

Brown is very unlikely to neglect his homework, but he is less likely to be cooperative over school uniform. In schools where fourth year boys are expected to wear uniform, a quarter of the Browns refuse. On the other hand, in schools where uniform is voluntary a quarter still regularly wear it.

576. His activities outside the classroom
Although John Brown is twice as likely as most modern school boys to have homework to do, he is just as likely to find time to take on some kind of out of school paid job - a paper round is the most probable choice. The majority of Browns don't, but two out of five have some employment of this kind. Brown has a better chance than Jones or Robinson of playing regularly in a school team, but this is still a distinction which only one Brown in three is likely to earn. Similarly, he has a considerably better chance than most of becoming a school prefect; but, even so, only one in five had achieved this by the time our census was taken. Rather over a third belong to school clubs or societies while a clear majority are members of outside youth clubs. Five per cent of Browns might better have been called Crichton since they are both prefects and games colours, as well as belonging to school societies and outside youth clubs. The average score on social participation of all the Browns is 1.4 out of a possible 4. A quarter of the Browns have no social activities of which we have knowledge.

DESCRIPTION OF MARY BROWN

577. Her physique
Mary Brown is probably one and three quarter inches shorter than John but only about one pound lighter. Her height of 5 ft. 3¼ ins. [1.60m] and weight of 8 st. 6 Ibs. [53.1kg] puts her rather above the average for girls of her age (14 years 8 months).

578. Her family
We have no family details for girls - the National Service Survey from which these details are drawn was necessarily confined to men - but there is no reason to suppose that Mary Brown's circumstances are markedly different from John's. The only known difference is that a slightly higher proportion are on the free dinner list - 4.5 per cent.

579. Where she lives
Mary Brown is even more likely than John to live in the Home Counties. Over half the Brown girls live there compared with two fifths of all other girls. There is a less than proportionate chance that Mary Brown will live in a problem area and a better chance than numbers alone would suggest that she will come from a mixed neighbourhood, but the differences are not so great as with the Brown boys. In the special group of schools in the worst slum areas one in ten of the girls in the fourth year are Browns. In the school with the most Browns they provide two fifths of the fourth year girls; in the school with the lowest proportion they form only 4 per cent of the total.

580. Her school work
Naturally enough Mary Brown is a hard worker like John. She is likely to have done better by the age of fourteen than nearly a quarter of the girls in grammar schools. Nearly a quarter of the Brown girls, like the Brown boys, have got where they are although they went to schools which set them no regular homework.

Table 7 Profile of the Brown girls

581. What examinations will she take? When will she leave school?
Mary Brown is less likely than John to sit for an external examination in the fourth year of her secondary course though, if she attends a school that takes these examinations, there is a two to one chance that she will be a candidate. She is just as likely as John to stay on for a fifth year. This means that, if her school provides the opportunity, she can almost be counted upon to take it. There is every likelihood that if she takes a fifth year, she will be an external examination candidate.

582. Her attitude to school
Mary's attitude to school rules is closely similar to John Brown's with one major and one minor exception. She is a good deal less likely to refuse to wear school uniform if her school expects it, but she is rather more likely to be absent from school without a reasonable excuse. In other respects she is, like John Brown, a thoroughly satisfactory member of the school community.

583. Her activities outside the classroom
The main differences in the social life of Mary and John Brown, as far as we know them, are two. Mary is unlikely to have a part-time paid job. This is pretty certainly in part a reflection of a difference in home duties. She is also a good deal less likely than John to play for a school team. This is not because Mary Jones and Mary Robinson are more likely to be picked; but because games play a less important part for girls than for boys, and because the size of teams for many girls' games is smaller than for boys'. There are in fact in the sample roughly twice as many boys as girls who play regularly for a school team. This accounts for the slightly lower average score on social participation of the Brown girls compared with the boys - 1.3 activities out of 4 instead of 1.4. For the same reason there are fewer Admirable Crichtons - 3.5 per cent instead of 5.4 per cent take part in all four kinds of social activity. A quarter take no part in any of the activities of which we have knowledge.

II. 'JONES' OR THE TWO MIDDLE QUARTERS IN ABILITY

A. THREE REAL PEOPLE

584. Robert came from a poor home. He lived with his mother, three brothers and two sisters. His father was often away from home, serving with the forces. The general health of the family was well below standard and his mother gave the impression of being harassed, probably due to family worries and difficult economic circumstances. Robert was often absent in order to help his mother. When at school, he was well-behaved, helpful and rather quiet. He gave considerable help in a school athletics project, digging out high jump and pole vault pits and approach run-ups. He worked hard for his pocket money by putting in coal for local residents. Robert was good at practical subjects but weak in the basic subjects. He had intelligence, but his progress had been seriously retarded by frequent changes of school and by frequent absences. Eventually, the family left the area by doing a 'moonlight flit'. (Exact details about this boy are somewhat scanty.)

585. Janet's father is self-employed - a business man. Jane is well above average height and weight. She was in the B stream at school, went on to take a commercial course in a technical college and is now working in an office. Her work in housecraft at school was as good as that of girls in the A stream. Her form was not given regular homework to do, but Jane asked for some and did it. She belonged to a youth club, but held no school offices. She did not take a fifth year course, but stayed on one extra term to take a fourth year examination.

586. Sheila is the eldest of five children. Her father, a capstan lathe operator, lives on a housing estate where many of the families come from slum clearance areas. All his children attend school badly, and Sheila missed the equivalent of twenty weeks' work in her third year. Her father did not always know of these absences, but even after warnings from the school attendance officer did not try to enforce his authority. In her last year at school Sheila worked in a cafe on Saturdays, and on one occasion at least she was working there when she was supposed to be absent from school because of illness. She went to work in the printing industry and is still with the same firm one and a half years later.

Sheila did not do very well in any kind of school work. Her teachers felt she did not work to capacity and her frequent absences made it difficult to interest her and gain her cooperation. She never joined any school societies and did not distinguish herself in games or physical education.

She was inclined to be silly in class, and inattentive; but I do not remember any occasion when she was guilty of more serious faults such as stealing. During her last two years at school she was very interested in boy friends and talked about them frequently to the visitor who takes the girls for sex education and mothercraft.

B. TWO IMAGINARY CHARACTERS

DESCRIPTION OF JOHN JONES

587. His physique
John Jones is 14 years old. He is probably about 5 ft. 4½ ins. [1.63m] in height though he is quite likely to be any height between 5 ft. 3 ins. [1.60m] and 5 ft. 7 ins. [1.70m] and, of course, may be even taller or shorter. He is most likely to weigh a little under eight and a half stone [53.55kg], though any weight between seven stone [44.1kg] and nine stone [56.7kg] would not be uncommon and the total range is, of course, considerably wider even than that. It would not be easy to pick John Jones out of a crowd simply on his physique.

588. His family
More likely than not John Jones is the son of a skilled manual worker, but a third of the Jones boys are the children of semi-skilled or unskilled workers. Only one in eight comes from a white collar worker's home. Half as many again of the Jones boys come from unskilled and semi-skilled workers' families as there would be on a strictly proportionate division of the population; similarly there are among them a quarter more sons of skilled workers than might arithmetically be expected. A quarter of the boys like John Jones have one brother or sister, a fifth have two, over two fifths have three or more. There is only a one in eight chance of John Jones being an only child. There are few like him on the free dinner list.

598. Where he lives
There is no special part of England or particular type of neighbourhood in which one would set out to look for Jones. He is to be found everywhere and in all modern schools, whose backbone he forms. There are rather fewer boys like him than might arithmetically be expected in the Home Counties and in schools serving mixed neighbourhoods where there is a good deal of owner-occupied housing, but the differences are not great.

Table 8 Profile of the Jones boys

590. What examinations will he take? When will he leave school?
In the fourth year, which is likely to be his last, there is an even chance that John Jones will be in a form which is given regular homework. Given the chance, two fifths of the Jones boys will sit for an external examination of some kind in the fourth year.

Allowing for the number of schools which have no fifth forms, it is probably true to say that, where there is an opportunity to stay on, about a quarter of the boys like John Jones will take it. If John has a fifth year at school, it will almost certainly be with the intention of taking an external examination. At present about half the total number of fifth form external examination candidates are boys like John Jones. Many, if not most, of them are candidates for examinations conducted by the various regional examining unions, though quite a few take one or two subjects in GCE. They are likely to sit for the new Certificate of Secondary Education.

591. His attitude to school
There is little adverse to be said about John Jones and boys like him; indeed, two thirds of them are thoroughly cooperative in school. There is a little trouble over school attendance, but not much; and a little more over homework, which ten per cent neglect. The one losing battle which schools fight with them is over uniform. Nearly two fifths of those who are supposed to wear it do not in fact do so.

592. His activities outside the classroom
Two fifths of the boys like John Jones have some regular part-time paid work usually of the paper round description. John Jones has a one in seven chance of becoming a school prefect or holding some similarly important post, and twice as good a chance of playing regularly for some school team. Half the boys like him belong to outside youth clubs and similar societies, and over a quarter to school societies. But nearly a third (31 per cent) of them do none of these four things, although some three per cent do everything - they are prefects, play for school teams, belong to school societies and outside youth clubs. Out of the four social activities on which we have information the average score of boys like John Jones is 1.2.

DESCRIPTION OF MARY JONES

593. Her physique
Mary Jones is probably about one and three quarter inches shorter than John Jones and about two pounds lighter. Her height of 5 ft. 2¾ ins. [1.60m] and her weight of 8 st. 3 Ibs. [51.75kg] are about average for girls of her age (14 years 8 months).

594. Her family
In the absence of information about Mary Jones' family background we must assume that it is similar to John's. The proportion of girls like her who get free school dinners is fractionally higher at five per cent than for Jones boys.

595. Where she lives
Mary Jones, like John, forms the backbone of all modern schools in all parts of the country and all types of neighbourhood. There are rather more girls like her in schools serving council housing estates and rather fewer in the schools in problem areas than mere arithmetic might suggest; but even in the worst slum areas she and her kind provide nearly half the total number of girls in the schools.

Table 9 Profile of the Jones girls

596. What examinations will she take? When will she leave school?
Mary Jones, like John, is expecting to leave school as soon as she is legally old enough. Only one in five of the girls like her will stay on for a fifth year, but that is partly because many of them are in schools which do not provide fifth form courses. Mary Jones is rather more likely than John to be in a form which gets regular homework, but even so two fifths of the girls like her are not. There is virtually nothing to choose between John and Mary Jones in the matter of external examinations. Boys and girls like them provide about half the fifth year examination candidates - usually not for GCE. If her school takes an external examination in the fourth year there is one chance in three that she will sit for it.

597. Her attitude to school
The odds are strongly in favour of Mary Jones getting into no serious disciplinary trouble. If she does it will probably be because she will not wear the uniform the school expects - a fifth of the girls like her are difficult over uniform, though this is not nearly so high as the corresponding figure for boys. There is on the other hand among the girls rather more of a tendency to stay away from school without adequate excuse, though once again the number affected is small - only about one in thirteen of the girls like Mary Jones plays truant. Mary Jones is likely to have missed altogether about a fortnight's school in the previous year, just a little more than John. When homework is set, it nearly always gets conscientiously done - in the kind of form in which Mary Jones is likely to be, it would be surprising if more than one or two girls gave trouble in this respect.

598. Her activities outside the classroom
There are probably two main differences between Mary Jones and John. Mary is very much less likely to have any kind of part-time paid job - only one in six of the girls like her have regular paid jobs compared with two out of five boys like John. Then she has a better than one in five chance of becoming a prefect or holding some similar post (something more important than a form office), compared with his one in seven chance. She is less likely to play games for a school team, but the difference is small considering the smaller number of players in many girls' games. Nearly a third (30 per cent) of the girls like her take no part in any of the social activities of which we know; but four per cent are prefects, members of school teams and belong both to school societies and youth clubs. The average score of girls like Mary Jones is 1.2 out of the four social activities which we know about.

III. 'ROBINSONS' OR THE BOTTOM QUARTER IN ABILITY

A. THREE REAL PEOPLE

599. Bill is an only child, who lives with his parents in a semi-detached house. His father is a miner. His attendance at school was satisfactory, and there were usually acceptable reasons for his occasional absences. His general health was always good but he was a nervous boy and had the habit of biting his nails. Occasionally he was impatient and irritated and lost his temper. His conduct was usually good with occasional lapses.

At the age of 12 he appeared before a Juvenile Court for larceny of axes and hammers but was given a conditional discharge. He was easily led. The educational psychologist found him to be educationally retarded and recommended him for a special class. He continued, however, in the secondary school, where he was always in the 'C' stream. He was very backward in the basic subjects. He also lacked athletic ability and did not participate in the sporting life of the school, but he was a likeable boy. Art was his best subject, in which he was very interested. He was quite good, in his class, at woodwork and metalwork. He worked in the house doing odd jobs and liked helping his mother. He earned a fairly regular supply of pocket money after school and in the holidays.

600. Joan lives on a housing estate in a good district. Her father is a salesman and Joan is an only girl, well below average height and weight.

Her attendance was not good, partly due to family difficulties and partly due to poor physical health. Her father and mother quarrelled frequently and the mother was often ill with nervous trouble. They both wished to do their best for Joan but they quarrelled about her future career. After she left school she came back several times to talk to members of the staff about her troubles. She appeared to have no relatives who could help or advise her. For a time the father left home and Joan, who wished to stay on for a fifth year, had to leave and find work. She passionately wanted to be a nurse but her work was much too poor. Her first employment was at a hairdresser's but she soon lost this post and another similar one because she was not very good at the work. She then went to a shop as a window-dresser but again could not do the work successfully and she is now working in the shop as a sales assistant. She was very well behaved and was friendly and courteous but too nervous to take any active part in school life. She was a member of the junior branch of St. John's Ambulance Brigade but even here she was unable to pass the various tests and so could not make any progress.

601. Bert was only 5 ft. 1½ inches [1.56m] tall and weighed just 7 st. 7 Ibs [47.25kg]. His attainments were very poor when he came to the secondary school, and he left with a reading age of eight years and four months. His IQ at the time of the eleven plus examination was 73. He has one elder brother who went to the same school where he had been a thorough nuisance. Bert himself was a pleasant, cheerful lad on the surface, but inclined to be a trouble maker or so his teachers thought. Neighbours, too, complained to the school of his bad influence over their children and particularly of his filthy language if they took him to task. He lived in a poor housing area, and he and his brother were left to their own devices in the evening while his parents went out. Neighbours reported that quarrels were a regular and noisy domestic feature. Bert was given to occasional, quite unexplained absences from school. He missed over three weeks' work in his third year. He spent about an hour and a half a day on a paper round, but took no part in any voluntary school activities nor did he belong to a youth club.

B. TWO IMAGINARY CHARACTERS

1. DESCRIPTION OF JOHN ROBINSON

602. His physique
John Robinson is rather short for his age of 14 years 8 months - about 5 ft. 3¾ ins. [1.62m] and rather light at just 8 stone [50.4kg]. But there are plenty of boys like him who are tall or heavy, and it would not be possible to identify Robinsons by their build alone. They tend to be just a little younger than other boys who entered the secondary school at the same time.

603. His family
Nine out of ten boys like John Robinson come from the homes of manual workers. The proportion whose fathers are semi-skilled or unskilled is getting on for twice that in the whole population (38 per cent instead of 22). A quarter come from really large families - those with six or more children; only one in fourteen are only children and one in six from families with two children. One in twelve are so poor that they have free school dinners.

604. Where he lives
In the 'problem areas' there are half as many Robinsons again as there are boys like Brown and Jones. In the schools in the worst slum areas over a third of the boys (36 per cent) are of John Robinson's kind. There are proportionately rather more Robinsons in the north and midlands than in the rest of England, and this is still true even when allowance has been made for the fact that there are more problem areas in these regions than in the south. In the school with most Robinsons they form over a third of the whole fourth year age group; the smallest proportion of Robinsons in any school is 3 per cent. These variations are important in assessing what chance John Robinson has of achieving any distinction in school activities.

Table 10 Profile of the Robinson boys

605. What examinations will he take? When will he leave school?
It is almost certain that John Robinson will leave school as soon as he can; even when allowance is made for modern schools without provision for a fifth year, it is unlikely that one in seventeen of those Robinsons who have the opportunity will take it. Only a quarter of the Robinsons get regular homework to do. Where boys like Robinson attend schools which take an external examination in the fourth year about one in ten become candidates.

606. His attitude to school
There is a good chance that John Robinson will be reckoned to be thoroughly cooperative in all matters of school discipline, though one in ten of the boys like him are considered especially difficult. Where the school expects fourth year boys to wear uniform, it has a stiff struggle to enforce it on the Robinsons - half of them refuse. Nearly a fifth of the Robinsons who are given homework to do fail to do it regularly. Attendance too is fairly often a problem - one in six or seven sometimes plays truant, and their absences, justified and unjustified, during the third year of the secondary course added up to between two and three weeks on an average.

607. His activities outside the classroom
It would be too much to expect many boys like John Robinson to take a prominent part in school activities, but one in fourteen do become prefects or hold some similarly important position - purely form offices were not counted - and one in five plays regularly for a school team. They are much more likely to take part in activities unconnected with the school - three times as many belong to youth clubs and the like as to school societies, and the same proportion (two out of five) have a part-time paid job. Nearly half (45 per cent) do not figure in any of the four social activities; a very few (just over 2 per cent) score four out of four, but the average score for all Robinsons is only 0.8.

DESCRIPTION OF MARY ROBINSON

608. Her physique
Mary Robinson at a probable 5 ft. 2¼ ins. [1.58m] is an inch and a half [38mm] shorter than John, but like him probably weighs just eight stone [50.4kg]. Both are well below the average for their age of 14 years 8 months. Both, too, are a little younger than others who entered the school at the same time.

609. Her family
There is no reason to suppose, though we lack evidence, that Mary Robinson's family differs from John's. Her father is almost certainly a manual worker - more likely than not a skilled worker, but with a considerably greater chance of his being a semi-skilled or unskilled worker than their numbers in the whole population suggest. About one in sixteen are poor enough to receive free school dinners.

610. Where she lives
Well over half the girls like Mary Robinson live in the midlands or the north compared with just half all other girls. There are fewer girls like her in the schools serving housing estates, new towns or socially mixed neighbourhoods and more in problem areas than strict arithmetic would suggest. In the schools in the worst slum districts nearly half the girls (45 per cent) are of the same kind as Mary Robinson. In the school with the highest proportion of Robinsons they account for four fifths of the fourth year girls; in the school at the opposite extreme they form 4 per cent of the age group. These variations need to be remembered when considering Mary Robinson's chance of distinction in school activities.

Table 11 Profile of the Robinson girls

611. What examinations will she take? When will she leave school?
It is virtually certain that Mary Robinson, like John, will leave school as soon as she can. Even where she has the opportunity of a fifth year there is not much more than a one in fourteen chance that she will take it - but this is just a little better than the picture for boys. Mary Robinson is more likely than John to take an external examination if she gets the chance - and if this does not involve staying for a fifth year. About one in eight become candidates for minor examinations in schools where fourth year examinations are held. Only one in three of the Robinson girls gets homework to do - few enough, but distinctly more than with the boys.

612. Her attitude to school
This is very like John Robinson's. Over half the Robinson girls are thoroughly cooperative and rather fewer girls than boys are reported as exceptionally difficult (7 per cent). But truancy is more of a problem, and quite a serious one since one in five or six have unjustifiable absences and the average time lost in the third year from all causes was the equivalent of three weeks. Although fewer girls than boys refuse to wear uniform if it is demanded, the proportion of those like Mary Robinson who give trouble in this way is high - 36 per cent. Over a fifth of the minority who are set homework neglect to do it.

613. Her social activities
There is little real difference between the record of the Robinson girls and boys. Neither can be expected to shine in school affairs, but Mary has a one in ten chance of becoming a prefect or holding some similar post and a one in seven chance of playing for a school team. Fewer Robinson girls than boys belong to youth clubs and far fewer (only one in seven) have a part-time job. About half (49 per cent) do not figure at all on the list of social activities, only one per cent score four out of four, and the average score for girls like Mary Robinson is 0.75.

IV. BROWN, JONES AND ROBINSON

Diagram 9a Scores in the reading test: boys in secondary modern schools

Diagram 9b Scores in the reading test: girls in secondary modern schools

Diagram 10a Attitudes to discipline in relation to ability: boys

Diagram 10b Attitudes to discipline in relation to ability: girls

614. In the previous three sections over 6,000 boys and girls (1) were reduced to six symbolic characters. Only one item out of all the information we possessed formed the basis of characterisation - performance on a scholastic test. This was appropriate because our terms of enquiry refer us to boys and girls of average and below-average ability and require us to advise on their education. We deliberately therefore looked at the 6,000 boys and girls as nearly as possible from the angle of a teacher in a classroom. If we had wished to think of them primarily as a games master, youth leader or newsagent might do, we should have selected different pieces of information to form the basis of characterisation. Instead of Brown, Jones and Robinson we might have built up Athos, Porthos and Aramis or Tom, Dick and Harry.

615. It was likely from the beginning that Brown would sit for an external examination and stay on at school for a fifth year. The only doubtful point was whether he would be given the opportunity. It was also always unlikely that Robinson would want to do either of these things. The reasons for both probabilities are clear - Brown was chosen because of his good test results, Robinson for his bad. The close association between test results and entering for external examinations is illustrated by Diagrams 9a and 9b (above). They also bring out clearly one other important fact - the value in terms of academic achievement of a longer school life. The middle curve represents the scores of boys and girls who were expecting to take an external examination in the summer of 1962 at the end of their fourth year of secondary education; the right hand curve the scores of fifth year candidates in the same schools. The boys and girls whose scores are recorded on the right hand curve were, therefore, a year older than those represented by the middle curve. If their scores are adjusted by the appropriate age allowance the two curves become virtually indistinguishable. The fifth year candidates score more points not because they are more intelligent but because they are older, and have had an extra year's education.

616. There could be no obvious certainty about what the survey would show about the activities of Brown, Jones and Robinson outside the classroom. A factor analysis was, therefore, made of which details are given in the Statistical Appendix [Appendix V Section VI]. The conclusions reached may be summarised for the non-technical reader in this way. The extra-classroom activities of which we received information are five - school posts of responsibility and authority, membership of a school team, of a school society, of a youth club or similar organisation, and the holding of a part-time paid job. Brown, Jones and Robinson all tend either to figure in more than one of these ways or to abstain from all. The activities themselves may be divided into two groups - those associated with school and those independent of it. The school based activities tend to go together and also to tie up with ability - they are associated more with Brown than with Jones, and more with Jones than with Robinson. The two activities independent of school - youth clubs and paid jobs - also tend to go together. They are not closely related to academic achievement - Brown, Jones and Robinson are all equally likely or unlikely to take them up. Another useful distinction between the five activities can be made. Being given a responsible school post and being chosen for a team are marks of distinction not open to all, but anybody can belong to a school society. The first two are closely associated with one another and with ability; the third stands half-way between them and the non-school group.

617. Pupils' attitudes to their school and the school's attitude to pupils are no doubt closely linked. They are not unchangeable, and the power to change them is to a considerable extent the school's. In this respect they differ from such important factors as homes and neighbourhoods. The survey gives information about four attitudes - to homework, to attendance, to the wearing of uniform and to discipline generally. Diagrams 10a and 10b (above) show that the connection with ability is close. Robinson is much more likely than Brown to stay away from school, to neglect his homework (or not to get any), to refuse to wear school uniform and to be especially difficult to control.

618. Granted that a Robinson is more often an unsatisfactory pupil in these various ways than a Brown is, the question still remains open whether it is these propensities which help to make him Robinson, a boy bad at work, or whether he falls into these bad habits because he is only and inescapably Robinson. As the Jacobite toast had it

'But which Pretender is and which is King,
God bless us all, that's quite another thing.'

V. OUR BOYS AND GIRLS IN COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOLS

619. Brown, Jones and Robinson are all, by definition, pupils in modern schools. But there are pupils in comprehensive schools who are like all three, and pupils in grammar schools who are like Brown and Jones. The proportion of pupils in comprehensive schools who are in fact like them is brought out in Diagrams 11a and 11b (below). Brown at 14 is as good as many grammar school pupils, and needs treating accordingly so that he may feel their equal and achieve as good results.

620. There is a contrast in principle between Brown, Jones and Robinson in their modern schools and their twins, so to speak (pupils with the same test scores), in comprehensive schools. (2) Part of it is clearly to be seen in Diagrams 11a and 11b and part can be inferred from them. The part that is visible is that the twins of Jones and Robinson form a much smaller part of the whole comprehensive school than Jones and Robinson do of the modern school. This is an exaggerated case of the differences that arise between modern schools themselves where the range extends from a school with one per cent only of Browns at one extreme, to a school with only one per cent of Robinsons at the other end. The other part of the contrast, the part that has to be inferred, is that the twins of all three - Brown, Jones and Robinson - are necessarily junior members of a comprehensive school whereas they would have been seniors in a modern school. This is because, again by definition, Brown, Jones and Robinson are fourteen years of age and comprehensive schools have many pupils of seventeen and eighteen.

621. Are there any significant differences in activities outside the classroom and in attitudes to school between Brown, Jones and Robinson and their twins in comprehensive schools? Unfortunately one can only give an answer for Brown and Jones. For one reason or another the number of individual questionnaires received from comprehensive schools for pupils in the Robinson range of scores was only half the proportion that the total test results showed them to form in the comprehensive schools as a whole. The actual number of Robinson questionnaires received was too small to make it possible to estimate with any confidence activities or attitudes within this group. The point is further discussed in the Statistical Appendix [Appendix V Section I 1.3.]

Diagram 11a Scores in the reading test: boys

Diagram 11b Scores in the reading test: girls

Table 12 Extra-classroom activities in the fourth year in modern and comprehensive schools

622. In Table 12 which deals with activities outside the classroom, differences which are statistically significant are shown in Bold type and those which are not free from sampling fluctuations in italic. The same device is used in Table 13. School societies play a bigger part and outside youth clubs and organisations a smaller part in the life of comprehensive than of modern school pupils. Brown and Jones would have had a smaller chance of reaching a position of authority or playing for a school team if they had gone to a comprehensive school - no doubt because they would still be only middle school pupils.

623. Table 13 shows that there are no significant differences over attendance or neglect of homework (though the comprehensive schools set it to virtually all the pupils of this ability range and the modern schools only to three quarters of the Browns and half the Jones). The comprehensive schools expect all their pupils to wear uniform and secure it with very few exceptions. A considerable number of modern schools do not expect fourth year pupils to wear uniform and those which do have considerable difficulty in enforcing it. There is no significant difference about the proportion of pupils said to be especially difficult over discipline; but, as Diagram 12 shows, the comprehensive schools have a markedly smaller proportion who are said to be thoroughly cooperative. This, like other differences, may well be due to the fact that Brown and Jones are among the oldest pupils in modern schools while their twins are only halfway up the comprehensive schools.

Table 13 Attitudes to school in the fourth year in modern and comprehensive schools

624. Another analysis shows that there is virtually no difference in the proportion of Browns who will complete a five year course in those modern schools which provide the opportunity and the proportion of their twins doing so in comprehensive schools. There is, however, rather less likelihood of Jones staying on in his modern school, if given the chance, than there is of his comprehensive school twin doing so.

Diagram 12 Attitudes to discipline in secondary modern and comprehensive schools

Footnotes

(1) The third of the modern school sample for whom individual questionnaires were completed.

(2) No genetic reference is intended by the metaphor.