Hadow (1923)

Notes on the text
Preliminary pages Membership, Analysis, Preface, Introduction
Chapter 1 History of the curriculum in secondary schools
Chapter 2 The curriculum at present in use
Chapter 3 Differences between boys and girls
Chapter 4 General review of the evidence and conclusions
Appendix I List of witnesses
Appendix II List of publications
Appendix III Coeducational day schools
Appendix IV Music and art exams
Appendix V Dr JG Adami: memorandum
Appendix VI School timetables

London: HM Stationery Office

Chapter 2 The curriculum at present in use, including all school activities, with special reference to the existing differentiation between boys and girls
[pages 45 - 79]

Part 1 The present official requirements in regard to the curriculum

33. In describing the curricula at present in use it will be convenient to deal in the first place with the general work done by pupils in secondary schools up to 16 years of age (the date at which the First School Examination is usually taken), and secondly with the arrangements for specialised education after 16, with special reference to advanced courses arranged under Chapter VIII of the Board's Regulations for Secondary Schools, and to other specialised courses sanctioned by the Board. The official definition of a secondary school runs as follows: 'In order to be recognised as a secondary school within the meaning of the Board's Regulations for secondary schools a school must offer to each of its pupils a progressive course of general education as defined in Chapter II of these Regulations (with the requisite organisation, curriculum, teaching staff, and equipment) of a kind and amount suitable for pupils of an age range at least as wide as from 12 to 17. The provision made for pupils below the age of 12 must be similarly suitable and in proper relation to the work done in the main portion of the school.' Article 2 of the Regulations provides that a school will not be recognised for payment of grant unless:

(i) the pupils normally remain at least four years at school; and
(ii) the school life of the pupils normally extends at least to the age of 16.

34. The official requirements in regard to curriculum, as set out in Chapter II of the Regulations for Secondary Schools for 1921, may be summarised as follows:

The curriculum must comply with certain conditions laid down with the object of securing proper attention to the cultivation of body and mind through physical training and games, bookwork, and the practical use of the pupil's faculties. It must in all cases make adequate provision for instruction in English language and literature, in history and geography, in mathematics and drawing, in natural science (including practical work by the pupils), and in at least one language other than English, (1) except in cases where the Board are satisfied that the instruction in English provides special and adequate linguistic and literary training and that the teaching staff are qualified to give such instruction. (2) It must also make such provision as the Board, having regard to the circumstances of the school, can accept as adequate for organised games, physical exercises, manual instruction, and singing; and, as regards girls, it must include practical instruction in domestic subjects, such as cookery, needlework, laundry work, housekeeping and household hygiene. (3) For older girls (over 15 years of age) natural science may be wholly or partially dropped, and mathematics may be confined to arithmetic, in order to make room for a fuller course in a combination of domestic subjects. The Board may require modifications in the curriculum or timetable if subjects are taught which are not of educational value, or if the time devoted to particular subjects interferes with proper instruction in other subjects, or if the time devoted to any subject is insufficient to allow of proper progress. Where special circumstances point to the desirability of greater elasticity, individual pupils or special classes may, with the approval of the Board, follow a curriculum varying from the curriculum approved for the rest of the school. In actual practice applications under this head are generally made on behalf of girls who desire to be exempted from mathematics or natural science; but we understand that such applications are not so frequently made at the present time as they were in former years. Article 6 provides that the curriculum and the time analysis of the whole school must be approved by the Board and must be such as to ensure both due continuity of instruction in each of the subjects taken and the allocation of an adequate amount of time to each of these subjects. In practice the school authorities submit the draft syllabuses of work for the year to the Board for approval under Articles 6 and 34, and we understand that as a rule any well drafted syllabus is approved without substantial changes. (4) Thus each school has its own syllabus in every subject, and in practice there is great latitude. This arrangement constitutes a most important point of difference between our English system of secondary education and most continental systems, such as the French and Prussian, which prescribe fixed annual programmes of work for the several classes in boys' and girls' schools of different grades.

The theory underlying these Regulations, which apply to the curricula of all secondary schools on the grant list, would appear to be that, subject to certain modifications to suit special cases, the secondary school curriculum for boys and girls up to the age of 12 should be quite general, and that from 12 to 16 it should continue to be general. During this period some provision should be made, where possible, for certain observed tendencies of the pupils towards mathematical, scientific, or linguistic studies. It seems, however, to be assumed that no definite specialisation should be encouraged until the pupil has taken the First School Examination at the age of about 16. This distinction between the needs of pupils under 16 and those of pupils over 16 years of age is based on the fact that secondary schools have a double function. On the one hand they provide a general preliminary education for those who intend to enter professions or to engage in occupations which require a highly trained intelligence, and accordingly propose to continue their educational preparation for life to a comparatively late age. Many pupils of this type will pass from the secondary schools to the universities, technical colleges and other places of higher education. On the other hand secondary schools are also responsible for the education of a very large number of pupils who will leave school at about the age of 16, and, having in view no further full-time education, will at once proceed to posts in offices, commercial houses, and factories, or will enter upon such occupations as farming and retail trade. In many schools these two groups of pupils must to a great extent be taught together, and one of the chief problems of school organisation is to arrange a common course of work suitable for both groups.

It seems to be implicitly assumed that girls' schools in addition to giving their pupils a general education should also give them some training designed to fit them for the duties of home life and of motherhood.

The types of differentiation provided for in the present Regulations

35. It will be seen from the foregoing account of the existing Regulations that the main differentiation for which they provide is the compulsory provision in girls' schools of practical instruction in domestic subjects (such as needlework, cookery, laundry work, housekeeping and household hygiene), which are in practice generally substituted for the woodwork and metalwork taught in boys' schools. It is provided that for girls over 15 an approved course in a combination of domestic subjects may be substituted partially or wholly for science and for mathematics other than arithmetic. (5)

In paragraph 12 of the Board's Circular on Curricula of Ruralised Secondary Schools, issued in 1914 (No. 883), it was pointed out that it was customary in such schools to provide courses in housewifery, cookery, and laundry work for the girls as an alternative to manual instruction and some of the outdoor work done by the boys. The Board suggested that such outdoor work as was done by the girls should normally include gardening, and might also include a limited amount of instruction in a specialised technical subject such as bee-keeping, poultry-keeping, or dairy work.

The Board's attitude in regard to the curricula of girls' schools

36. The Board stated in para. 25 of their Circular on Curricula issued in 1913 (No. 826) that, apart from Article 9, it did not seem necessary to insert in the Regulations any special conditions affecting the curriculum of girls' schools, in view of the fact that the Regulations already allowed of great variations in the arrangement of the timetable and the organisation of work. They pointed out, however, that on certain points (such as the time of beginning foreign languages) many girls' schools adopted an arrangement quite different from that traditional in boys' schools, and they stated that the Board would at all times be prepared to give careful consideration to any suggestions made by experienced head mistresses for otherwise varying the curriculum to meet the needs of their schools.

In the same Circular the Board called particular attention to certain considerations affecting girls' schools. The tendency to subordinate the aim of the curriculum, and of the school as a whole, to a minority of the pupils who were preparing for entrance to the universities was even more to be deprecated in schools for girls than in boys' schools. The problem of the curriculum in girls' schools presented special difficulties of its own, of which the most important was the overcrowding of the timetable. This was due not only to the shorter time actually spent in school and to the more exacting claims made on the time of girls in day schools by the conditions of their home life, but also to the relatively greater importance attached to music and art and to those domestic subjects which could not properly be omitted from the education of girls, even where, either from choice or necessity, they sought to place themselves in a position of economic independence. It was also sometimes due to the inclusion of two foreign languages in the curriculum of girls whose secondary education was, in point of fact, limited to the years from 12 to 16, and who, in many instances, had entered a secondary school indifferently prepared. The ill effects of attempting to teach too many languages concurrently were especially observable in those girls' schools which met only in the morning. In addition to these considerations, it had to be borne in mind that many of the examinations through which admission was gained to institutions of higher education, or a qualification was obtained for occupations which some girls must of necessity enter, were still primarily based on the curricula of boys' schools, so that the danger of over-pressure in preparing girls for such examinations was considerable, especially in coeducational schools where boys and girls were taught side by side in the same classes. The Board pointed out that this danger might, to some extent, be avoided if it were recognised that girls might with advantage generally postpone such examinations to an age rather later than that which was usual for boys, and thus escape the risk of overstrain during the period of adolescence.

In a recent circular the Board explained their general attitude in regard to the girls' curriculum as follows:

'While the education of girls should be in no way inferior to that of boys, the educational requirements of boys and girls, like their capacities, are not identical. Girls' schools, though their curricula are largely (perhaps too largely) modelled on those of boys' schools, have characteristic features which call for special treatment. Such subjects as art and housecraft may already be included among the additional subjects of any approved course. But experience alone will show whether the existing Regulations are elastic enough to meet the special needs of girls' schools or whether it is desirable to provide alternative Regulations expressly framed in their interests. This is a matter to which the Board are giving careful attention, and to which they invite the attention of school authorities.' (6)

37. The organisation of day secondary schools in England divides a school into three blocks, which may be called the junior, middle, and upper schools respectively. The junior department, which is of course absent in many secondary schools, takes its pupils up to the age of about 11 or 12, and ends at the point at which the free place pupils from elementary schools begin to enter. The middle School, from which the majority of the pupils leave at about 16, ordinarily covers the years from 11 or 12 to 16, and gives instruction up to the standard of the First School Examination. As a rule, mathematics, natural science, and at least one foreign language are studied throughout this part of the school. After one year another foreign language or another branch of natural science may be added, and in classical schools Greek may be added after two or three years' study of Latin. The upper school generally includes pupils from the age of 16 to about 18 or 19 and takes them up to the stage of the Second School Examination.

A. Junior departments
38. Many municipal and county secondary schools (whether coeducational schools or separate schools for boys and girls) have no junior departments, but admit the majority of their pupils at about 11 years of age - most of them direct from public elementary schools. (7) Such departments often exist in endowed day schools for boys, but for boys' boarding schools of the 'public school' type their place is usually taken by the preparatory school. Junior departments are also frequently found in high schools and in endowed schools for girls, but a large number of girls still enter these schools from private schools of varying degrees of efficiency. (8) It would seem that many parents, especially in urban areas, who send their sons to the elementary schools, prefer to send their daughters to private schools, before sending them on to a secondary school. Thus the previous preparation of a considerable proportion of the girls entering secondary schools has frequently been neither so systematic nor so thorough as that of most boys entering corresponding types of school. In Circular 826 (on the Curricula of Secondary Schools) the Board state that the course for the junior school, in which the average age of the pupils is between 8 and 12 years, must include for all pupils English, arithmetic, history, geography, drawing, singing, and physical exercises.

'The work in English must include writing, spelling, the reading of suitable books, and the elements of grammar; and provision must also be made for instruction in reading aloud and in the learning by heart of English verse.'

'It is highly desirable that provision should also be made for some instruction in manual work or handicraft and in nature study, and the inclusion of these subjects may in any school be required by the Board.'

B. The middle school
39. The curriculum for the main portion of the school must comply with the general conditions laid down in Chapter II of the Regulations with the object of securing due attention to the cultivation of the body and mind by means of exercises and games and the practical use of the pupil's faculties. These Regulations provide that the minimum curriculum for pupils between the ages of 12 and 16 must include English subjects, foreign languages, mathematics, natural science and art. We understand that the existing practice is to require the continued study of history, English, a foreign language, mathematics and a branch of natural science throughout this stage, with individual exceptions - general exceptions being allowed only on special grounds. The Regulations, as administered by the Board, afford great latitude to the school authorities. The Board point out in Circular 826 (on the Curricula of Secondary Schools) that the requirement of certain specified subjects in the curriculum does not imply that all pupils should study each of these subjects throughout the whole of their school course; and, in the upper part of the school, those pupils who proceed to advanced work naturally discontinue some subjects in order to give special attention to others. Even in the middle part of the school there is scope for much elasticity in the apportionment of time to each of the various subjects; and in many schools the pupils are allowed, at certain stages, to concentrate on certain subjects, and to devote less attention to others. The subjects which thus temporarily receive less attention are usually emphasised at another stage of the course. In special circumstances the Board are prepared to relax the requirements relating to foreign languages, more especially as regards schools in which the work has a rural bias. In certain instances, also, the Board are prepared to approve within the curriculum a certain limited amount of technical work, so that boys and girls may be enabled to prolong their general school education and during its course, in the last year or two years of school life, to begin their more technical studies. The Board point out that not only may there be differences of curriculum corresponding to the varying circumstances of different schools, but that there may also be alternative courses of instruction in any one school. The Board recognise, in Circular 826, that there will be much variation in the arrangement of the curriculum for the middle portion of the school according to local circumstances and according to the attainments of pupils entering the school from elementary schools, preparatory schools, junior department of secondary schools, or private schools. Most pupils in the middle school on reaching the appropriate standard, sit for the First School Examination, which is usually taken by boys at the age of 16, and by girls (on an average) at a slightly later age, between 16 and 17. The requirements for this examination as laid down by the Board and the various examining bodies prescribe that at least five subjects must be offered, including one from each of the following three groups: English subjects; languages other than English; science and mathematics. (10)

Special courses in the middle portions of secondary schools, for pupils over 15 years of age
40. The Board state, in Circular 826, that in certain instances they are prepared to accept special courses of a vocational character, such as courses in commercial, agricultural, and domestic subjects. In commercial subjects in the middle forms of a school the special work may include shorthand, business methods, typewriting and the principles of accounts; but special courses in commercial history and commercial geography will not be accepted for middle forms, and the work in modern languages should not be primarily concerned with their commercial use. This special commercial work should not, in the Board's view, begin before the age of 15, and should not as a rule occupy more than one fifth of the whole school time. (11)

In accepting courses specially adapted for the education of pupils who will be engaged in farming and similar occupations the Board do not necessarily require the inclusion of a foreign language in the curriculum.

As regards domestic courses the Board, under Article 9 of the Regulations, may approve for girls over 15 the partial or entire substitution of a combined course in housecraft for natural science and for mathematics other than arithmetic. This combined course need not include needlework, but should include both laundry work and cookery. If the combined course extends for more than one year, courses may be added in one or more of the following subjects: home nursing, first aid, care of children, hygiene, or household management generally.

C. The upper part of the school, for pupils over 16
41. The Board define the expression 'upper part' as meaning not merely the higher forms, but forms composed of pupils, of not less than 16 years of age, who, having pursued a systematic course of study in the middle and lower forms, have reached a standard of attainment in the main departments of work, which can conveniently be determined by the First School Examination or examinations equivalent thereto. (12) In the view of the Board the remaining years of school life, after the age of 16, will be properly used for more specialised work, which may either be adapted to the requirements of those whose normal education will, for many pupils, be completed at school, or arranged in special preparation for a university course. Thus the principles underlying the organisation of the curriculum in this part of a school differ from those which apply to the middle and lower forms. Older and more advanced pupils naturally desire to concentrate their attention on a smaller number of subjects; and their general education will probably be best advanced, if they acquire a thorough knowledge of one department of study, while not altogether neglecting other subjects. It follows that in this part of the school much greater freedom of choice is necessary. The Board point out that it is one of the chief duties of secondary schools to pass on to the universities a supply of pupils well prepared to begin the courses of study required for an academic degree. The most serious difficulty in the arrangement of this portion of the school work is that the number of pupils taking any particular course of study is frequently so small that organised class work becomes impossible, especially in smaller schools.

The present Regulations for advanced courses
42. Partly in order to facilitate the organisation of the upper part of secondary schools the Board, since 1917, have inserted in the Regulations a special chapter for the provision and recognition of advanced courses. The arrangements for these courses - which were first described in outline in Circular 826 (1913) as comprising three courses; viz. mathematics and science, classics, and modern studies - have been gradually modified in the light of experience of their actual working; in the Regulations for 1921 a fourth course was added in the form of a combination of ancient and modern humanistic studies, and in 1922 a fifth course in geography was introduced. The current regulations for the five recognised courses may be summarised as follows:

The course must be planned to provide instruction, extending over two years, for groups of pupils who, at its commencement, have already reached the stage of general education determined by the standard of an approved First School Examination. The main subjects of study in any such course must be selected from one of the following groups:

A. Science and mathematics This course normally includes work in both science and mathematics; but this requirement may be waived for pupils who do substantial work in the biological sciences, provided that the course is otherwise suitable and includes work reaching an adequate standard in the physical sciences.

B. Classics This course must provide for all pupils substantial work in the language, literature, and history of both Greece and Rome.

C. Modern studies This course comprises the language, literature and history of the countries of Western Europe in mediaeval and modern times. Such a course must include (ii) Either the study of a second such language, or work of a good scope and standard in English language and literature; or
(iii) The study of history, always including in the case of each literature taken the history relevant to the period specially studied.

D. The civilisation (i) of Greece or Rome and (ii) that of England or another country of western Europe in modern times, as embodied in their language, history, and literature. Such courses must include provision for substantial work in
(i) The language and literature of Greece or Rome in classical times;
(ii) The language and literature either of England or of a foreign country of western Europe in modern times;
(iii) history, which should always include the history relevant to the periods of literature specially studied.

E. Geography This subject must be combined with two other subjects approved by the Board, of which at least one must be history or a science.

Illustrations of the extent of differentiation at present existing in schools working under the Board's Regulations

43. These Regulations are, as a rule, reflected very clearly in the actual curricula of the schools. For example, in the West Riding the girls' schools differ mainly from the boys' schools in regard to the curricula for pupils up to the age of 16, in substituting for manual instruction, domestic subjects, which are generally taken earlier than the Board seem to contemplate, and in replacing by botany the less elementary physics and chemistry done by boys. Latin is generally begun later in girls' schools, and taught for fewer hours in each week, than in boys' schools, and girls who are thought to show a want of aptitude for mathematics are sometimes not taken beyond elementary algebra and geometry. (15) These variations, however, permit the first examination, which in the West Riding is the School Certificate of the Northern Universities Joint Board, to be taken by girls as well as by boys. Girls may take botany where boys take general experimental science, or physics, or chemistry; French may be offered as the one foreign language required; and mathematics may be avoided if a Matriculation Certificate is not indispensable. In coeducational secondary day schools in the West Riding the same differences exist, though to a smaller extent. Many girls take botany; but more take chemistry, physics, and mathematics up to the standard of the First School Examination than in ordinary girls' schools. Most of the West Riding secondary schools are only just beginning to retain more than a handful of pupils over the age of 16, though the number is rapidly growing. Of those now in the schools, most are pupils who have passed the First Examination and show promise of taking successfully the second. Some girls' schools in the West Riding have rather shorter hours than are usual in boys' schools, but there is a tendency to bring them into line with boys' schools. Others have no afternoon session, and the morning session accordingly lasts till 2 o'clock, with a short interval for lunch.

In the same way in coeducational secondary day schools in Leicestershire girls are allowed to take botany instead of physics, and needlework instead of trigonometry, in the middle and upper forms. In Form V in one of the largest 'mixed' schools in the county a differentiation between the sexes is made by the provision of a separate course for girls in general science, which is specially arranged to meet their need for domestic instruction, while the boys take a systematic course in physics and chemistry. There are always, however, some girls of the professional class in these schools who take the full science course with success.

The head master of a large coeducational day school informed us that the girls did less mathematics and physical science than the boys in the upper forms. In Form V(b), in which pupils were prepared for the Oxford Local Examination, the girls took hygiene and general elementary science, while the boys took mathematics and electricity.

Part 2 Criticisms of the existing curriculum by our witnesses

A. Junior schools or departments for boys and girls up to about 10 or 11 years of age

44. Our witnesses were agreed that there was probably no necessity for any very explicit differentiation in the curriculum as between boys and girls up to 12 years of age except in manual work. The existing arrangement under which girls did some needlework, while the boys did woodwork or other forms of manual work, was regarded as providing a sufficient degree of differentiation at this stage. In physical training, several expert witnesses thought that girls and boys might do the same physical exercises up to 10 or 11 years of age, though some preferred that the sexes should be separated at 11 rather than 12 for gymnastics and games. Several witnesses pointed out that the education ordinarily given under present conditions to boys and girls at this stage, except in elementary schools and in preparatory schools or junior departments (16) presented a variety, which, though due in many cases to intelligent experiment, was also frequently due to mere tradition. On the one hand were the well established preparatory schools for boys, (17) in which the curriculum had a strong linguistic bias; on the other hand a number of private day schools for girls, with curricula frequently based on no well considered principles, and employing methods that were often old-fashioned and ineffective. The fact that a large number of girls had, up to the age of 11 or 12, been educated by governesses or in private schools rather than in the junior departments of secondary schools proper was the cause of many of the differences, which undoubtedly existed in the actual working of the curriculum in girls' and boys' schools. For example, one of the greatest practical difficulties with which many girls' high schools had to contend was the difference in the educational standard attained by junior pupils at entrance. The head mistress of a large boarding school told us that, owing to the defective linguistic training of many of her pupils who had come to her from private schools, she found much greater difficulty in bringing them up to the standard of the First School Examination in Latin or French than in mathematics. She thought that boys who had been at preparatory schools had a great advantage in having received a fairly systematic grounding in foreign languages from an early age. On the other hand, as is pointed out in Chapter 3 of this Report, the inferiority of many girls in mathematics and physical science is possibly due to the absence of effective teaching in arithmetic before they enter the secondary school.

Apart from the general suggestions in their Circular on Curricula, (18) the Board do not seem as yet to have laid down any very definite rules or to have devised any system for supervising the organisation in these junior departments. (19) No general principles appear to have been enjoined in regard to the staple subjects of instruction or standards of attainment, nor do any special arrangements seem as yet to have been devised to secure efficiency. We would suggest that the whole problem of the curriculum of schools for junior children deserves much more careful consideration than it has hitherto received. We also suggest that interesting results might be obtained if careful note could be taken of the different types of curricula which appear to be best suited to the needs of young children of both sexes taught under varying conditions.

B. The middle school (for pupils from 11 or 12 to 16 or 17)

General criticisms and comments on the existing curriculum by our witnesses

(1) That it is too academic
45. Our witnesses held that the curriculum was modelled too much on the requirements of those boys and girls who were preparing for university and professional examinations and failed to provide sufficient contact with practical life. We consider that there is some substance in this criticism, especially in its bearing on girls' schools, where one of the most important aims of the training, that of fitting girls for the duties of motherhood and for work in the home, has been unduly obscured by the academic trend given in many instances to the curriculum owing to the necessity of preparing pupils for external examinations. The unduly academic bias of the curriculum, we were informed, was especially noticeable in some types of girls' schools, and probably went far to account for the fact that many girls, on leaving school, seemed unable to correlate their knowledge of different subjects and to apply it to concrete problems. It will be seen from the summary of the psychological evidence in Chapter 3 that there is some reason to believe that girls are less interested in abstract argument than boys, and it would, therefore, appear that it is especially desirable in girls' schools that the practical application of apparently abstract subjects, such as mathematics, should be shown from an early stage, and that, in general, the teaching of the different subjects should, as far as possible, be correlated so as to show their bearing on the facts of everyday life. Girls are disposed to be more receptive than boys, and it is, therefore, especially important that they should be encouraged to think for themselves and to apply their knowledge. We have received a number of memoranda from representatives of several great commercial and industrial concerns which employ considerable numbers of men and women educated in secondary schools. They alleged that the existing curriculum was too academic and failed adequately to develop those qualities of initiative and responsibility, which were so valuable in business. Moreover, it did not sufficiently stimulate the imagination. In many cases employees entering direct from the secondary schools seemed unable to correlate such knowledge as they possessed and to apply it in their everyday work. There was also, in some instances, a lack of initiative and resourcefulness, which was especially noticeable in women employees. We are inclined to explain this effect as due partly to preparation for examinations, partly to the congestion of the curriculum, and partly to the fact that some mistresses in secondary schools help their pupils too much. The consequence is that many girls never really acquire the habit of thinking and acting for themselves and correlating such knowledge as they possess. It would appear from our evidence that the same fault is present, though to a less degree, in some boys' schools. If pupils are assisted too much by their teachers, and if too much reliance be placed on textbooks, the result must inevitably be to make them rather helpless and disinclined to tackle problems on their own account. We accordingly agree with these employers in recommending that the curriculum, teaching, and activities of secondary schools, and more especially girls' schools, should be so planned as to develop initiative and responsibility, to stimulate the imagination, and to correlate the different subjects of the curriculum with one another. Private study should be encouraged and the pupils should be thrown more on their own resources in the last years at school.

Many witnesses urged that the principle embodied in Article 9 of the present Regulations should be extended, and greater latitude allowed to head mistresses to organise special courses of various kinds to meet the needs of pupils over the age of 15 who either did not desire to take the First School Examination at all, or, having passed that examination, did not wish to take an ordinary advanced course. We think that development on these lines is desirable, and that the Board should encourage school authorities to provide for the needs of 'non-academic' girl pupils over 15 or 16 years of age. The principle already embodied in Article 9 of the Regulations, in regard to special domestic courses, might be extended to cover other courses of like type. We suggest that wide latitude might be left to head mistresses in planning such courses to meet the needs of girls over 15, who desire to remain at school for either one or two further years, but do not intend to proceed to a university. Such courses might, for example, consist largely of English literature, one foreign language, and the arts, including music; or again of domestic subjects, with some form of craft work for pupils who had a bent in that direction. Courses in the language, geography, and economics of a foreign country might also be provided, especially for girls intending to enter business.

2. That it is overburdened, especially in girls' schools
46. Great emphasis was laid by many witnesses on the overcrowding of the curriculum in girls' schools which, as we have shown in Chapter 1, is largely due to the fact that the pioneers of the reform movement in women's education about the middle of the last century took over the boys' curriculum while retaining in an attenuated form the old tradition of 'accomplishments'. It has thus come about that many girls who have no genuine aptitude for music or needlework are still expected to devote considerable time every week to work in these subjects. In addition to this, as is shown in Chapter 3, many girls in day schools are expected to do a considerable amount of fairly heavy house work in their homes, with the result that they are often seriously overworked physically and mentally, and have little or no free time in which to develop their own individual interests. An ordinary girl, inasmuch as she was, as a rule, physically unable to stand the strain, should really study fewer subjects than a boy, whereas at present she actually took more. Insistence on the continued study of uncongenial subjects after a certain age often had the effect of depressing their energies and was in consequence educationally mischievous. On the other hand, there was obviously a serious danger in any system of education which did not emphasise the lesson that difficulties must be faced and overcome. The evil was accentuated by the fact that girls in general were more inclined than boys to worry over their work. An overloaded curriculum was therefore, many witnesses thought, more likely to cause a certain amount of distress to a girl as it did not permit her to reach the standard she felt bound to attain. Several university witnesses told us that one result of the present overcrowding of the curriculum in girls' schools was that there was not sufficient time for thorough and accurate work, and in consequence many students on entering the university were weak in this respect.

A more serious consequence of the congestion of studies which was especially noticeable in girls, was the absence of freshness and initiative. Several witnesses who had had to deal with large numbers of women students at training colleges and at women's colleges at the universities had been struck by the relative dullness and lack of resilience in many of them, and attributed it chiefly to the fact that, owing to the congested curricula in the secondary schools, many pupils had no free time and no facilities for developing their personality and their own individual interests. Several witnesses, including one parent, suggested that, during the first few years of secondary school life all girls should, for a certain length of time, study English, one foreign language, mathematics and science, together with aesthetic and domestic subjects. At about the age of 15 or 16, a differentiation should be made in the subjects according to the bent of the pupils. One witness suggested that it ought to be possible to discover, at the age of 14 at the latest, what were the subjects for which a particular girl had an aptitude, and that for the rest of her school life a few subjects only should be studied, more time being devoted to each so that her education should be more specialised. At present in many girls' schools valuable time was lost in attempting to teach several foreign languages to the younger pupils. In many secondary schools both for boys and girls about half the pupils were not fit to study effectively more than one foreign language, and should devote more time to it and to the mother tongue than the other pupils.

We are convinced that there is much truth in the contention that the congestion of the curriculum frequently entails serious consequences for the mental and physical welfare of many pupils, and we accordingly suggest that the Board should devise suitable means of dealing with this problem, which appears to be especially urgent in girls' schools. (20) In the light of the available evidence, we consider that it is even more important to allow a certain amount of free time to girls than to boys, as most of our witnesses have assured us that girls are much less able to protect themselves against over-pressure than boys, who have, as a rule a habit of healthy idleness, whereas girls are more conscientious. As one witness expressed it, 'If you give a girl too much to do she breaks down; if you give a boy too much to do, he doesn't do it.' In general, we are of opinion that the curriculum in most schools does not at present afford sufficient free time for a variety of self-chosen occupations, fostered, if necessary, by voluntary societies.

3. (a) That it is too rigid
47. There was general agreement among our witnesses, especially the women witnesses, that greater flexibility was required in the curriculum, especially in girls' schools. Many of the curricula drawn up by the school authorities to comply with the existing Regulations were unduly rigid, and did not allow adequate scope to head mistresses to meet the needs of pupils who deviated slightly from the ordinary type. Many witnesses urged the desirability of allowing greater elasticity to girls' schools in the matter of the curriculum, on the ground that such differentiation as was desirable would naturally emerge. It should be mentioned that some witnesses were of the opinion that similar elasticity, though not to the same degree, was required in boys' schools. (21) Other witnesses thought that what was required, especially for girls, was a further development of the principle of substitution - in other words, a larger number of alternative subjects and greater freedom of choice, including the fine arts, commercial studies, and craftwork. The great majority of our witnesses laid special stress on the desirability of revising the arrangement of the curriculum, so as to give greater prominence to the arts, including music.

We think that there is much truth in the contention that the existing curriculum is unduly rigid, especially for girls' schools. It has to be recognised that many girls will proceed to careers which involve economic competition with men, and no hindrance should be placed in the way of their following the boys' curriculum, if they so desire. On the other hand, the large number of girls, who might with advantage take a different course, should not be debarred from following their particular bent. There should be sufficient elasticity in school curricula and in the requirements for the First School Examination to meet their needs.

In this connection many witnesses, including several head mistresses, urged that, in the First School Examination for girls, a more prominent place should be assigned to drawing and music, which were at present relegated to an inferior position in Group IV. (22) We have dealt with the position of drawing and music in the curriculum in Section 52 of this chapter, and have suggested that the group containing music and art should be accorded full parity in the First School Examination with Groups II and III. We fully realise that the whole question of modifying the existing arrangements for the First School Examination requires to be approached with care in view of the requirements of the different professional bodies, which accept that examination wholly or in part in lieu of their own entrance examinations. We would suggest that the difficulty might possibly be surmounted by permitting candidates, under certain conditions, to sit for separate supplementary examinations in certain individual subjects, such as mathematics, which might be needed to meet the requirements of the professional bodies. This is actually done in many cases at present.

(b) That it is desirable to provide more scope for individual divergence of interest and ability
48. Many witnesses, basing their view on the consideration that the range of variability within each sex in point of educable capacity seems to be greater than any differences between the sexes, urged that the divergences of aptitude, interest and inclinations in individual pupils should receive fuller recognition in school teaching and in examinations. It was pointed out that the existing curriculum, though it might not sufficiently recognise strong or weak capacity, did recognise the variety of the interest taken by different pupils in practical and theoretical subjects. In general, the great need appeared to be a wider latitude in the choice of particular subjects in order to suit individual power, and a greater freedom of pace in order to suit individual rates of development. For example, one witness suggested that, if the curriculum were modified on these lines, and if in examinations, and as far as possible in schools, more scope were allowed for individual divergence of interest and ability, any sex differences which really existed would receive legitimate recognition, while individual variations within each sex would also have free play. Several witnesses suggested that the problem of the curriculum was to arrange progressive courses, divided in suitable stages in view of the mental growth of the pupils, and the problem of classification was to arrange that the pupils were placed in the most suitable group. The more wisely the curriculum was planned and the greater the opportunities for reclassification, the more unlikely it was that any serious difficulties would arise in any group from differences of educable capacity. For this reason they held that the provision of parallel forms and 'express' forms (i.e. forms in which work usually done in four years was done in three years) would tend to improve classification and to give opportunity for special acceleration or retardation in individual cases.

It was also pointed out that adolescence in different individuals took place at widely different times, and that the curriculum should be arranged to meet these variations between chronological, mental, and physiological age. It was further suggested that many girls at adolescence could best express themselves by means of handicraft, physical exercises, and other forms of practical work. Some of the witnesses thought that girls' schools in general possessed an advantage in that an outlet or means of individual expression for so-called 'dull' girls might be found more readily than for 'dull' boys in boys' schools. It was probable that, at the lower end of the scale, differentiation was especially necessary, and for this reason greater liberty should be given to heads of schools in arranging their curriculum. Several medical witnesses called attention to the importance of providing suitable opportunities for wakening latent ability in so-called backward girls and boys by offering a wide range of practical interests between the ages of 12 and 16.

4. That the existing curricula for girls are modelled too much on those for boys
49. Many of our witnesses, including several parents, emphasised the consideration, which seems to emerge from the history of the curriculum described in Chapter 1, that the existing curricula had been drawn up mainly by men for boys, and that, in consequence, adequate scope was not afforded for girls, who required a greater number of alternative subjects than boys from the age of 14 onwards. The tendency to model the curricula of girls' schools on those of boys' schools had been intensified by the common examinations, still largely controlled and conducted by men, for which both sexes sat from the age of 16 upwards. One witness, for example, cited the case of mathematics, to which a degree of respect was paid which was probably exaggerated for boys, and certainly for girls.

5. That the undue prominence sometimes given to the competitive principle in girls' schools may lead to overstrain
50. Some witnesses, basing their suggestions on the physiological fact that girls usually completed their physical development at a much earlier age than boys, (23) and assuming that psychological development bore a close relation to physical development, recommended that girls should be introduced to new phases of intellectual work at an earlier age than boys. The witnesses held that this need not involve the separate education of boys and girls, but only classification in certain specific subjects on a basis other than that of age alone.

Other witnesses stated that girls, who appeared to develop rapidly at first, up to about 14 years of age, and then relatively slowly, often seemed to find it difficult, between the ages of 14 and 17, to keep up their class position in coeducational secondary schools without undue effort.

One or two of our witnesses, with considerable experience of schools in certain areas, had observed that girls who, up to 14, were very fond of hockey, cricket, and swimming, preferred such forms of relaxation as walking, reading, needlework, and tennis after 14 years of age. This seemed to indicate that growing girls often had not the desire for strenuous physical exercises, which they enjoyed earlier, and would probably enjoy again later, after the age of 18. There was some evidence to show that their intellectual development followed a similar course. We have not sufficient evidence to enable us to pronounce any opinion on the correctness of this view, but we would suggest that further investigation on systematic lines is desirable. Other witnesses laid stress on the evil effects of excessive competition, both in class and in games, on girls between the ages of 14 and 17. The head master of a large coeducational day school told us that he thought it was most important to retard the education of girls during this period. Several witnesses suggested as a remedy that, while a certain standard of steady effort should be expected at this period, and while the girls themselves need not be made conscious that less was expected of them, due allowance should in practice be made for this period of lessened vitality. For example, competitive internal examinations, which sometimes had the result that girls struggled to keep a high place, should be discarded during that period in favour of school lists grading girls in groups. The extreme competitive element would thus be removed. In the same way in games, competitive team matches, so far as they involve intensive training, should in general be discouraged for girls of 14 to 17. In the light of our physiological and psychological evidence, which is summarised in Chapter 3, we think that a strong case has been established for further modifying the competitive principle for girls in secondary schools between the ages of 14 and 17. We understand that even at present some girls' schools substitute for competition a system under which the pupils are placed weekly or fortnightly in classes A, B, C, or D. Each of these classes represents a certain percentage of marks; and it is suggested that a girl showing reasonable industry may, without effort, maintain her position in the class to which she is assigned. Whether there is less strain in playing against bogey than in playing a match seems at least to be open to question; and we are inclined to doubt whether this system represents any substantial improvement on the ordinary competitive methods. (24) We would suggest, however, that systematic research is required into the whole question of competition in girls' schools and the limits within which the competitive principle can safely be applied with satisfactory results.

6. That girls should not be encouraged to sit for the First School Examination before the age of 16½ or 17.
51. Many of our witnesses urged that girls as a rule should not be encouraged to take the First School Examination before the age of 16½ or 17. This suggestion, if adopted, would mean that many girls would spend another year in the main portion of the school, entering about 11 and taking the First School Examination at about 16½ or 17. It was pointed out that in many girls' schools where there was no economic pressure the average age of girls taking the General Schools Examination of the University of London was 17 years and upwards. The main reasons adduced in favour of the suggestion may be summarised as follows:

(a) girls were physically less strong than boys, and were probably less capable of severe and prolonged mental effort, especially from the age of 13 or 14 upwards. There was also, from the age of about 11½onwards, a difference in the 'tempo' of development in girls as compared with that of boys which ought in some way to be reflected in the curriculum. Moreover, many girls were more highly strung than boys, and consequently more liable to nervous strain. In the light of the physiological and psychological evidence, summarised in Chapter 3, we are disposed to attach considerable weight to this consideration.

(b) This tendency to overstrain was often intensified by home duties which affected girls in day schools far more than boys in similar schools, as is shown in Chapter 3. The daughter in many middle class families, while still at school, was expected to help her mother in household duties and in cases of sickness to act as nurse.

(c) The time which was still devoted by a considerable proportion of girls to instrumental music and needlework had also to be taken into account.

(i) It would inevitably impair the value of the last year or two of school life, which should be spent on subjects for which the student showed special taste. For economic reasons many parents could not afford to keep their daughters at school beyond the age of 18; and it was important that those girls who were proceeding to the university should so far as possible have two or three years free from examinations in which they could prepare themselves for the courses which they proposed to take at the university.

(ii) The universities were inclined to extend their courses from 3 to 4 years; and for economic reasons many girl students, who did not enter the university till the age of 19 or 20, would find it difficult to remain there for 4 years.

(iii) The authorities of secondary schools were naturally anxious to develop the advanced courses; and though there was nothing in the Regulations to prevent girls from beginning an advanced course at the age of 17, it was often difficult to induce parents to allow their daughters to remain at school till the age of 19.

(iv) The Board's Regulations for State Scholarships which had been in force up to 1921 rendered it difficult for girls, who aimed at obtaining one of these scholarships on the result of the Second School Examination, to postpone taking the First School Examination much after the age of 16. (25)

We are of opinion, however, that the needs of many university candidates would be met by a general acceptance of a concession already made by most universities, viz. that holders of a First School Certificate who have qualified for matriculation in all subjects except one, should be able to take that subject separately at a subsequent First or Second School Examination. It is well known that many capable candidates have a weak subject and that this weakness is the cause of their failure; to compel them to sit again for all the subjects of the matriculation course because of the failure in one subject only is often a very great hardship. If the rule, which we recommend, were made general, more candidates (and this is specially true of girls) would be able to qualify for matriculation in four subjects at the age of 16 or 17, and they could take at a later examination the one subject in which they had failed to qualify, without any interruption of their advanced studies.

7. Desirability of developing the aesthetic side of secondary education for both sexes
52. We have been much impressed by the almost unanimous agreement among our witnesses (including parents) on the desirability of developing the aesthetic side of secondary education. The relative neglect of music, drawing and painting, and other forms of aesthetic training, is less noticeable in girls' schools, which inherit from the older tradition of women's education a sense of the importance of the fine arts. This good element in the tradition of girls' schools is, however, largely counterbalanced by an exaggerated belief in the importance of executive ability; and the study of musical and artistic appreciation has been till recently almost ignored. In boys' schools, with some notable exceptions, the aesthetic side has hitherto been much neglected. Several of our most authoritative witnesses, basing their opinions partly on the results of psychological research, and partly on experience gained in coeducational schools, thought that the response of the two sexes in music and art (26) was probably equal, if equal opportunities were provided, and that in consequence a more serious development of aesthetic training was very necessary in the whole of our system of secondary education. Others laid much stress on the value of the fine arts, when properly taught, in developing concentration of mind, accuracy of observation, and a genuine appreciation of natural beauty and artistic achievement, and in stimulating the growth of the imaginative, critical, and creative faculties. It was pointed out that, in the past, technical skill had been too much regarded as the only measure of successful achievement in these subjects. Only a small proportion of the pupils could probably attain to high technical skill, but the great majority could be trained to appreciate good art and good music.

Much emphasis was laid by many of our witnesses on the educative value of drawing, which not only afforded an excellent training for the hand and eye, but developed subtle processes of feeling and intuition through which knowledge was derived and conveyed, and by means of which truth was apprehended as it were directly. Artistic 'imagination' or 'vision' appears to be closely allied with the emotional nature and for this reason is obviously of vital importance in the education of the young. If neglected or ignored, it may easily become perverted, and feed a mere craving for the garish and sensational and even the sensual. It is in the education of these faculties and powers, these finer sensibilities, that art teaching can be made to take such an important part. Skilful art teaching should also produce quickened and intelligent observation and a certain measure of manual and manipulative dexterity. It should also provide a training in disciplined effort.

Again the study of music, rightly undertaken, can be of the highest educational value. We are in error if we dismiss it as a recreation, or seclude it as a remote and technical study which is out of relation to the rest of our intellectual life. Its range is not less wide than that of literature; it appeals to the same faculties of emotion and judgement; it is, allowing for the necessary differences of medium, subject to the same general aesthetic principles. Its history, far too much neglected in our schools, is an essential part of the history of our civilisation. The mental training offered by analytic study of its construction and texture is closely parallel to that afforded by the natural sciences. Its problems of style are as interesting and varied as those presented by any literary form. Above all, it is a language with a poetry as noble as that of Dante or Racine, of Shakespeare or Milton. All the arguments which can be used for the inclusion of language and literature in our ordinary scheme of education may be used with equal force in the case of music. Its worth has been attested by almost every great educational writer from the time of Plato; and the only reason why it is not already established in our schools is that English music is but now recovering from a century of apathy and neglect, in which its tradition, once amongst the greatest in Europe, was allowed to fall into oblivion. From this dark unprofitable period we have now emerged; and it is high time that our national gift of music, which has once more come into its own in executance [performance] and in composition, should be duly recognised in the training grounds of our schools and colleges.

Some of our witnesses directed attention to the special importance of a study of the fine arts in day schools, as it was here in particular that the effects of unfavourable environment could to some extent be counteracted. Moreover, such studies, besides affording a relief from the ordinary school subjects, had been found to be of great use in many instances in developing general intelligence; for example, skilful musical teaching had frequently produced remarkable results in stimulating supposed 'dull' girls. Stress was also laid on the intrinsic value of the arts in life, as a channel for the issue of emotional instincts, especially in the case of adolescents. For this purpose dancing, eurhythmics ['a system of rhythmical bodily movements, esp. with the aid of music, used with an educational object 1915' OED], oratory, and dramatic representations of good English and foreign plays (27) had been found useful, and many witnesses urged that the practice of these forms of art should be further developed in secondary schools. Other witnesses drew attention to the value of aesthetic studies in later life, and pointed out that, from the standpoint of the double function which girls might discharge, if they fulfilled their natural destiny as makers of homes, their education should include some introduction to the amenities of life, including such subjects as music, reading aloud, or any simple art which would make their leisure time more enjoyable. In the Circular on Curricula of Secondary Schools (No. 826), the Board have given advice on the teaching of drawing as an integral part of the minimum curriculum, and have also recommended that the practice of singing should be included in the main part of the school. (28)

We consider, therefore, that it is most desirable further to develop the teaching of the fine arts, including aesthetic and musical appreciation, for pupils of both sexes, who show any artistic aptitude, up to 16 years of age, but more especially in girls' schools. This might be effected, not only by teaching the elements of music to pupils in the lower forms in the main schools, and by organising the teaching of singing both as an integral part of the school curriculum and by means of voluntary glee clubs, but also by teaching musical appreciation by means of school concerts, if such could be arranged, or by renderings of great musical compositions on the gramophone [record player]. In the same way, the elements of artistic appreciation might be taught, in association with the ordinary instruction in drawing, by means of simple lectures on the history of painting, sculpture and architecture illustrated with lantern slides or good reproductions of great works of art. In this connection we would direct special attention to the desirability of paying more attention to school pictures and equipment, with the object of providing a better artistic environment. Several of our witnesses pointed out that the art rooms in many secondary schools compared very unfavourably with the laboratories in the same buildings. In the light of the evidence which we have received, we attach very considerable importance to the provision of a suitable artistic environment in secondary schools and more especially in day schools. In general we think that a more prominent and established place in the ordinary curriculum for both sexes should be assigned to the fine arts, including music and other forms of aesthetic training, such, for example, as dramatic representations (29) associated with the teaching of the mother tongue and foreign languages, dancing, and possibly also eurhythmics, as an adjunct to the study of music. We would emphasise the importance of developing the power of appreciating the fine arts, as there is ample evidence to show that many pupils are able to enjoy them who have little technical skill in any of the aesthetic media. In order to strengthen the position of the fine arts in the curriculum, and to provide a wider choice of alternative subjects for boys and girls, but more especially for girls, we recommend that the group containing' music and art (Group IV) be accorded full parity in the First School Examination with Groups II and III, all the candidates for a Certificate being required to pass in English, and that music should be made a principal subject for the Second School Examination. (30)

A pupil might be allowed to offer either music or drawing as a subject at the same examination.

8. The proper place of domestic subjects (including elementary hygiene) in the girls' curriculum
53. The question of the teaching of domestic subjects in girls' schools was dealt with in the Report of the Consultative Committee on Practical Work in Secondary Schools (1913). We have, however, received a good deal of fresh evidence on the subject. Most witnesses proposed to confine the teaching of domestic subjects to girls, but two head masters of coeducational schools told us of successful experiments in which boys had taken up needlework or camp cookery, and girls had received a training in woodwork. Others strongly advocated the teaching of hygiene and elementary biology to both girls and boys, though these cannot perhaps strictly be classed as domestic subjects. Our witnesses have expressed very divergent views, some assigning to domestic subjects the first place in an ideal curriculum for girls, while others, regarding them as having little educational value, suggested that they should be omitted from the school curriculum and studied later. Among those - and they were the great majority - who favoured the inclusion of such subjects in the regular school course for girls there was a difference of opinion regarding the stage at which they should be introduced and the time that should be allowed for them, one witness advocating not less than two hours a week for each of three such subjects throughout the whole of the middle school period, others recommending a continuous course but with less time in each week, and others strongly advising an intensive course after the age of sixteen. Many schools which formerly ran successful one year or two year courses in these subjects for girls of sixteen and upwards have found that the number of students has seriously diminished during recent years, and some schools have in consequence abandoned these courses. It has been suggested that the falling off may have been due to the increasing amount of housework to be done in the home since the beginning of the [first world] war, but it seems more probable that during the war it was due to a desire on the part of the girls to begin some definite work as soon as possible, and that at the present time the economic conditions arising out of the war render it difficult for many parents to allow their girls this extra year before they begin the specialised training for their careers. There was also some divergence of opinion among our witnesses with regard to the content of the school course in domestic subjects. Nearly all witnesses wished to include needlework, though many were opposed to the old-fashioned fine needlework, and some felt that since girls as a rule lived more sedentary lives than boys, it was desirable that the time given to this subject should be strictly limited. A few advocated freedom of choice for girls between needlework and the other forms of handwork, including those, e.g. woodwork, generally offered only by boys. Most witnesses approved of a course of cookery and general housecraft lessons at some stage of school life, and a few wished laundry work to be added, though the criticism was made that 'both laundry work and cookery entailed a large amount of wasted time in waiting for the completion of some of the operations.' Other witnesses felt strongly that hygiene, (31) the care of young children, simple nursing, and general household management should be included in every girls' school course.

A few witnesses advocated the correlation of the 'physical sciences' with 'domestic science', but there is some evidence to show that the practice of teaching physics and chemistry with a strong domestic bias has proved a failure, and many schools that experimented with the plan have now abandoned it. One witness who had formerly approved of the practice now considered that 'this method tended to deprive the science teaching of its intellectual value by destroying its sequence'. (32) Great stress was laid on the fact that for many girls much time is already taken up by household duties at home, but it was also pointed out that few girls at the present time get as good a training in cookery and housekeeping in their homes as was given to those of a generation or two ago. Some schools have found a one year course of cookery, at about the age of fifteen, to be of great advantage; the girls enjoy the work at that stage and show much interest in it, using their knowledge and skill in the house, and there is strong evidence that parents warmly appreciate the practical training given to their daughters.

Some witnesses pointed out that as long as domestic subjects are left outside the general school curriculum, or are taken by only a section of the girls, so long will they fail to hold an honourable place in the schoolgirl's estimation, in spite of the fact that many of the special duties of women make a strong natural appeal to girls. The Committee support this opinion and feel that the ideal curriculum is still to be evolved. There is room for much sympathetic experiment to find out how the natural instincts of the girl may be used to best advantage in assisting her all-round development while at school, and in fitting her for home life as well as for a professional or business career.

9. Games and physical exercises

(a) Games
54. There was general agreement among our witnesses that the differentiation which at present exists in games and physical exercises between boys and girls was founded on sound reasons, and should probably be carried rather further. It will be seen from the anatomical and physiological evidence summarised in Chapter 3 that girls in general are physically less robust than boys, especially at the period of adolescence. Girls also appear to be more liable than boys to suffer from the effects of nervous strain and excitement, and several witnesses accordingly urged that it was desirable that the competitive element in games should be kept within strict limits in girls' schools. Several witnesses from coeducational schools were strongly of opinion that boys and girls ought not to be allowed to play together after the age of 11, either as opponents or in mixed teams, in view of the fact that the build of the boy was muscularly stronger than that of the girl. In regard to the choice of games, most witnesses thought that hockey, lacrosse, tennis, and cricket were games appropriate for girls, but that football was quite unsuitable. It was pointed out, however, that in most of these games the style of play would be rather different for girls, and that, as a rule, girls should play for a shorter time. Several witnesses thought that 20 minutes each way was quite long enough for girls in hockey and lacrosse matches. There was general agreement that games should form part of the ordinary curriculum for girls in secondary schools, provided that precautions were taken to prevent undue fatigue of body or mind. Release from games should only be granted in individual cases on the recommendation of the medical officer.

Special emphasis was laid on the necessity for exercising great care in the matter of games for girls between the ages of 14 and 16. Puberty imposed a heavy strain on the girl, physically and mentally, and she should be protected as much as possible by the establishment of rules forbidding strenuous physical work during the monthly periods. Careful inquiry seemed to have established the fact that all girls were naturally disinclined for active exercises, whether gymnastics, dancing, or games, for the first few days of the period. In most cases no evil results might follow exercise, but it was much better to take reasonable precautions. Teachers should inculcate a sense of the responsibility of playing within reasonable limits, and of not playing at all when in an unfit condition. Adolescent girls might continue to play the same games as before, but should play for shorter periods. Extra strain should be avoided for all girls; and anaemic girls, in particular, required exceptional treatment. Several witnesses pointed out that the principle of team work in games required to be applied with caution in girls' schools, as there was a danger that girls, with their strong sense of duty, might overexert themselves. (33) Many witnesses mentioned that there was a noticeable tendency in some girls' schools to over organise the games. This was partly due to the zeal and conscientiousness of the games mistresses, who were sometimes inclined to supervise and direct too much. It was urged that games in girls' schools should be made more free and spontaneous, as under present conditions they were infected too much by the feeling of the lesson time, and often imposed almost as heavy a strain on the pupils as ordinary lessons. Most witnesses, including several parents, thought that the general conscientiousness of girls extended also to their sports and that there was a danger that some pupils, who were over conscientious and docile, might exhaust themselves physically and mentally for the supposed good of the school. There was general agreement that special care was required in organising games for girls in day schools, and more especially in coeducational day schools. The pupils attending day schools frequently came from long distances, and the girls often had to perform a certain amount of housework in their homes. The games played after school hours required, therefore, to be watched with care, and due regard should be paid to the previous strain which had been undergone by the girls in the normal daily routine at home and in school and in the journey to and from school, and also in regard to. the nourishment taken and the general physical condition. It was pointed out that the physique of many of the girls attending day secondary schools was often less robust than that of girls in boarding schools. (34) Such girls were much in need of games, but not necessarily of the same type, nor to the same extent as physically stronger girls. In the light of our evidence we would suggest that the whole question of games in day schools for girls and coeducational day schools requires further investigation. While we think that suitable games should form part of the ordinary curriculum for girls, we are not convinced that they should be made compulsory for all pupils, particularly in day schools.

(b) Physical exercises
55. There was general agreement that boys and girls should be separated for physical exercises, as for games, after the age of 11 or 12, as the average girl arrived at the state of puberty between 12 and 15, and after puberty anatomical differences made separation desirable. The physical training of adolescent boys and girls should take on the distinctive masculine and feminine characteristics suited to the sex differences, which at that period began to be pronounced. The bodily development of girls made them aim at a greater degree of smoothness and expressiveness in their movements and postures, while the boys' ideal was manhood with its physical characteristics of strength and energy. Women's movements were the direct expression of their emotional responses in a higher degree than men's movements; and this explained their inclination for a greater subtlety of posture and movement and their liking for forms of exercise, such as dancing, which gave opportunities for expression. There was general agreement that girls were readily fatigued at this age and were not muscularly strong, so that all attempts to cultivate muscular strength unduly were harmful. Girls were naturally less apt than boys for exercises involving combination or competition, and stood, therefore, in need of a certain amount of team work to encourage such capacity. The aim in general should be to cultivate strength and precision among boys, and suppleness, grace, and lightness of movement among girls. A similar differentiation was necessary in the period after puberty; and for boys of this age stress should be laid on vigorous and energetic exercises, which served to strengthen courage and self-reliance. For girls, on the other hand, the degree of difficulty in the exercises should be increased in rather a different way. Strength and endurance should be cultivated only so far as they did not adversely affect freedom and elasticity of movement. The gymnastic exercises should consist of movements less sharply defined and limited than those of young men, and the sense of rhythm, which was well marked in girls, should be developed. Several witnesses thought the time devoted to the physical training of girls in many secondary schools was entirely inadequate. Having regard to the fact that in many girls' schools games were not compulsory, a number of witnesses suggested that more frequent periods should be assigned to physical training, including dancing. One witness thought the ideal arrangement would be that every girl should have 20 minutes a day with the expert teacher of physical exercises and a few movements after each lesson in the form room under the supervision of the ordinary form mistress. (35)

Several medical witnesses pointed out that, as 'postural' defects, and more especially the tendency to spinal curvature, were more common among girls than among boys, special care should be devoted in girls' schools to remedial gymnastics, including special drill. We think, however, that more attention should also be given to remedial gymnastics in boys' schools. In the same way special games should be arranged on the advice of the school medical officer for delicate and so-called backward girls; and much wider latitude should be given in regard to the time to be spent in games by individual girls.

C. Upper part of the schools (for pupils from 16 or 17 to 18 or 19)

56. The outstanding feature in the present arrangements for the organisation of this part of the school is the facilities given by Chapter VIII of the Board's Regulations for the organisation of advanced courses in science and mathematics, classics, modern studies, geography, and a combination of ancient and modern studies. The criticisms offered by our witnesses on the present arrangements for these courses may be summarised as follows:

(i) That they were unduly rigid.
(ii) That they were too 'academic', being based on a traditional grouping of subjects rather than on present needs.
(iii) That the standard of attainment at which pupils were at present allowed to begin the advanced course work was not sufficiently high.
(iv) That a heavy strain might be imposed on some girls who, beginning their advanced course at the age of 16, sat for the Second School Examination at the age of 18.

(i) Many witnesses drew attention to the rigidity of the present Regulations. Only five advanced courses were provided, and, though it was true that within each of these a considerable amount of latitude was allowed, no provision was made for girls and boys who might desire to offer unusual combinations of subjects. (36) This lack of freedom of choice bore especially hardly on girls' schools, where a certain proportion of pupils, who had taken the First School Examination, might wish to remain on at school and take an advanced course without working expressly for the Second School Examination. The classification on which the courses were based was unfavourably criticised by several witnesses, who pointed out that mathematics, for example, should not be tied indissolubly to natural science in its present limited sense, and that provision might well be made for a course in which mathematics could be combined with political and economic theory. Many witnesses also drew attention to the desirability of providing courses in which music, or drawing and painting, might be offered as principal subjects. (37)

Advanced courses recognised for 1921 - 22 in secondary schools in England and Wales on the Efficient List

Included in the above list are 71 boys' schools, 138 girls' schools and 7 mixed schools, which are not on the Board of Education's Grant List for 1921-22. Of these only one school (a girls' school) has an advanced course (A) recognised.

In 11 schools (9 boys' schools and 2 girls' schools) advanced courses of all three types are recognised. Two courses are recognised in 49 boys' schools (A and B courses in 17, A and C courses in 32), in 27 girls' schools (A and C courses) and in 16 boys' and girls' schools (A and C courses).

A few witnesses also suggested that courses should be provided in commercial subjects and in economics and the elements of political philosophy. As regards suggestions of advanced courses in commercial subjects, we note that the Board, in their Memorandum on these courses issued in 1919, explained that they had carefully considered suggestions for a separate course in these subjects. It was pointed out that the existing definition of the content of the course in modern studies was sufficiently flexible to cover any commercial course suitable to the scope of a secondary school. (Circular 1112, Section 24.)

(ii) Several witnesses pointed out that the advanced courses, in their present form, seemed to have been designed mainly for pupils proceeding to the universities and not going directly into occupations on leaving the secondary school. In their view, the secondary school should provide an education that was complete in itself, and the advanced courses should accordingly be remodelled so as to meet the needs of pupils who were entering occupations immediately on leaving school.

Many witnesses suggested that advanced courses might be arranged in separate subjects instead of in groups of subjects. The Second School Examination could then be taken in subjects, thus leaving a wider choice for girls and devolving the responsibility for a suitable combination of subjects on individual head mistresses.

(iii) Some witnesses were of opinion that the standard of attainment at which boys and girls are at present allowed to begin the advanced course work was not sufficiently high. The Board's regulations provide that before proceeding to the advanced courses pupils should have obtained the School Certificate, but several witnesses pointed out that the standard necessary to obtain the ordinary certificate in the First School Examination was low, and suggested that students should be required to have a really good School Certificate before being allowed to proceed to higher studies. In this connection attention was directed to the temptation offered by the higher grants at present payable for the advanced courses.

We observe, however, that the Board's regulations do not absolutely insist on candidates for advanced courses having actually passed the First School Examination, and we understand that in certain instances the Board accept the statement of the head master or head mistress that an individual pupil has attained the standard of the First School Examination. On the whole, we do not think that great weight need be attached to this criticism, as we gather that, in actual practice, there is a tendency to raise the standard of entrance to an advanced course after it has been established for a few years in any really efficient school. Moreover, some schools will not admit pupils to an advanced course until they have reached the matriculation standard.

(iv) Other witnesses drew attention to the strain imposed on many girls, who began their advanced course at about the age of 16 and took the Second School Examination at the age of 18. We observe, however, that there is no provision in the existing regulations to prevent girls or boys from beginning their advanced course at the age of 17 or later. We further understand that it is in no sense obligatory for pupils taking advanced courses to sit for the Second School Examination. We have recommended elsewhere that girls as a rule should not be encouraged to take the First School Examination before the age of 17, and this suggestion, if generally adopted, would obviate the danger of over-pressure in many cases.

57. On the whole, we are inclined to attach weight only to the first and second of these criticisms. The evidence which we have received points to the fact that the existing courses are unduly academic and not sufficiently flexible. They do not seem to make sufficient provision for groups of pupils, and more especially girl pupils, who will not be going on to the university or who may desire to offer unusual combinations of subjects, such as biology and two modern languages. It is especially noticeable that the claims of the aesthetic subjects are at present almost completely ignored. We fully recognise the benefits that have accrued to secondary education from the institution of advanced courses. The provision of such courses has undoubtedly resulted in a great increase in the number of boys and girls who remain at school after 16 years of age. There are also signs that these courses have had a beneficial effect on the type and standard of work throughout the schools. Many schools, since the establishment of such courses, are doing relatively advanced work of a post-matriculation character, which, until a few years ago, was unknown except in the better schools. Further, in many schools groups of pupils and individual pupils are allowed to attend part of the course, so that the benefit accruing from the provision of this relatively advanced instruction in certain subjects is not confined to the group of pupils who are taking the full course. The courses have also exercised a stimulating effect on teachers, many of whom are reading more widely, and taking a keener interest than formerly in their own special subjects, in view of the fact that they now have the opportunity of giving fairly advanced instruction to their pupils. We gather that very considerable latitude is exercised by the Board in administering the regulations; and that there is much greater variety within the limits of each of the five prescribed courses than would appear at first sight. We are therefore entirely convinced that the policy of subsidising advanced work in schools is good for both boys and girls, but we strongly recommend that the existing arrangements should be made more flexible, so as to provide a wider field of choice, more especially for girls, who may desire to specialise in the study of art or music (38) with suitable ancillary subjects, or to take a course including a branch of science, such as biology, with certain literary subjects. We would suggest for the consideration of the Board that steps might be taken to insert a clause in the regulations for secondary schools, conferring on the Board power to approve at their discretion, syllabuses for advanced courses in suitable combinations of subjects, including art and music, submitted by the school authorities for groups of pupils. We would suggest that the question of making drawing (art) a principal subject for the Second School Examination should be thoroughly explored in all its bearings.

Footnotes

(1) Article 7 of the Regulations provides that 'a curriculum including two languages other than English, but making no provision for instruction in Latin, will only be approved where the Board are satisfied that the omission of Latin is for the educational advantages of the school.'

(2) We understand that, in practice, there are very few schools in which the teaching of foreign languages is entirely omitted.

(3) The Board have issued a series of pamphlets and memoranda dealing with methods of treating the different subjects of the curriculum. (See Appendix II) (4) In drafting and revising syllabuses the school authorities frequently consult the Board's Inspectors. (5) Article 9 of the Regulations for Secondary Schools (1922).

(6) Circular 1112 (1919) on advanced courses, Section 7.

(7) Many local education authorities arrange that the free place scholars enter the secondary school at the age of 11.

(8) We are well aware that many private schools both for boys and girls are thoroughly efficient, and are carrying on valuable educational work.

(9) This should be compared with the differentiation implied in Article 2 (5) of the Board's Provisional Code for Elementary Schools for 1922 'Practical instruction in handicraft, gardening, domestic and other subjects - Wherever possible practical instruction should be given to the older children and should form an integral part of the ordinary school curriculum ... domestic subjects for girls include instruction in the proper performance of ordinary domestic duties, together with instruction in needlework and knitting. Instruction in cookery, laundry work and housewifery should be given whenever practicable to the older girls. ... A lesson in domestic subjects should, as a rule, occupy not less than two hours, and the greater part of this time should be devoted to practical work by the girls. Needlework should be so taught as to secure a practical knowledge of sewing, cutting out and making ordinary garments, together with mending and darning.'

(10) See Circular 1002 of 15 June 1917 Scheme for the better organisation of examinations of secondary schools Section 8 (c), and the Regulations of the different examining bodies.

(11) We understand that the Board have refused to recognise an examination for a 'Commercial Certificate' as alternative to an approved First School Examination.

(12) Circular 826 (1913), Section 37.

(13) Memorandum on advanced courses issued in 1919 (Circular 1112):
Section 21. 'The serious study of biology requires a substantial knowledge of both chemistry and physics, and therefore a sound knowledge of elementary mathematics. It is expected that chemistry will always be continued in the advanced course in connection with biology and that physics will also be continued unless it has previously been carried to an adequate standard. Where, however, biology occupies a prominent place in the course, the requirement of mathematics in addition to the auxiliary sciences of chemistry and physics might involve, especially in girls' schools, the risk of serious overstrain. The Board have therefore reserved discretionary power to waive, either in the course generally or for certain pupils taking it, the requirement of the continued study of mathematics.'

(14) Circular 1002 of 15 June 1917, Section 9, and the Regulations of the various examining bodies. The fourth course 'D' is already provided for in some Second School Examinations and arrangements will now doubtless be made for course 'E'.

(15) Elementary algebra and geometry is the common limit for many pupils and for some entire schools throughout England.

(16) Many of the high schools and endowed schools for girls possess efficient junior departments.

(17) Boys frequently remain at preparatory schools up to the age of 14.

(18) Circular 826 (1913), pp. 29 and 30 (summarised in Section 38, this chapter).

(19) We understand, however, that these junior departments, where they exist, are inspected and reported upon on occasions of Full Inspections. (20) cf. Sections 28 and 29 of the Prefatory Memorandum to the Regulations for Secondary Schools for 1922.

(21) Several witnesses pointed out that the matriculation requirements of certain universities determined with undue rigidity the curriculum of the fifth and sixth forms both in boys' schools and in schools for girls.

(22) See the note about the present position of music and drawing (art) in the First School Examination in Appendix IV.

(23) See Chapter 3 of this Report. (24) cf. EL Thorndike Educational Psychology (New York, 1913), I, pp. 286-289.

(25) It has been decided that no new awards of State Scholarships shall be made in the financial years 1922-23 and 1923-24, but that the question shall be reviewed at the end of these two years. The Regulations for the Scholarships for 1921 provided that candidates must be under 18 years of age on the 31 July preceding the date of the Second School Examination. (Statutory Rules and Orders, 1921, No. 2103, Regulation 5 (b).).

(26) We have used the word 'art' according to custom as meaning drawing, history of art, and appreciation of art and craftsmanship.

(27) cf. Bacon De Augmentis Scientice VI, 4. The practice of acting 'strengthens the memory, regulates the tone of the voice, and the efficiency of pronunciation; gracefully composes the countenance and the gesture, procures a fitting degree of assurance.'

(28) See also Circular 832 (1914) on music, and Circular 1252 (1922) on music.

(29) At present dramatic representations (like some games) are too often arranged for the few pupils who have special histrionic [acting] talent. If they are to be of real educational value, opportunities should be afforded for all pupils to take part in them.

(30) Specimen syllabuses and sets of questions for art and music as full subjects for the First School Examination and for music as a principal subject for the Second School Examination are given in Appendix IV to this Report.

(31) We observe that express provision is made in the Code for teaching the elements of hygiene to all pupils in elementary schools. (Article 2(10) of the Provisional Code for 1922.)

(32) cf. The Chapter on 'Home Arts' in Burstall and Douglas' Public Schools for girls (1911), pp. 181 foll. Interim Memorandum on the Teaching of Housecraft in Girls' Secondary Schools issued by the Board of Education (1911), pp. 25 foll. Report of the Consultative Committee on Practical Work in Secondary Schools (1913), pp. 45 foll. (Cd. 6848); Chapter on Domestic Subjects in the New Teaching edited by Professor J Adams (1918).

(33) For team work in boys' schools see Norwood and Hope Higher Education for boys in England (1909), pp. 435 foll.

(34) cf. Annual Report of the Chief Medical Officer of the Board of Education (1920) (Cd. 1822), p. 187, (Games in secondary schools for girls), and also Report of the Committee formed in October 1921, at the instance of the College of Preceptors, to consider the effect of physical education on girls. (Printed in Educational Times for September 1922, p. 382.)

(35) It is perhaps worth pointing out that this arrangement is recommended in a memorandum on physical education issued by the Scottish Education Department in 1920 as suitable for both elementary and secondary schools. (See Sections 26 and 56). 'At frequent intervals during the day, at least twice in the forenoon and once in the afternoon, the pupils should be given simple corrective exercises and simple massive movements that will quicken the circulation and respiration, and thus aid in restoring full activity of function.'

(36) It is worth pointing out that the advanced courses are not intended to cover all the higher work of the school. Individual pupils may, of course, follow unusual combinations.

(37) It will be seen from the subjoined statistics [Table in section 56] that of those girls who take advanced courses the great majority take modem studies.

(38) We understand that experimental courses in music and in art have been recognised by the Board at several girls' schools.