47
Wednesday, October 16, 1974
A1
considered wrong in principle that a general educational
system should be based on a separation of children at the
early age of 11 or 12 years into those who would receive
prevocational and those who would receive grammar school secondary education. The White Paper's view is that all children
will benefit equally up to the age of 14 from elements of both
grammar school and technical/practical training, and that
eventual separation of the two streams should be left as late
as possible, so as to give children as long a time as possible
in which to show in which direction their natural ability lies.
We are all very conscious of the need to improve technical
aptitude, but we believe that this is likely to be more se@urely
built on the basis of a general education, including of course
a technical element, up to the age of 14.
Thereafter there will be ample means of implanting and
extending technical education. The proposal is that eventually
40% of Senior Secondary places will be in technical forms. For those who do not reach senior secondary schools, there will be apprenticeship schemes coupled with the services of the five
technical institutes, and for the most talented students, the
polytechnic.
·
With the provision of secondary places for all primary
school leavers, the need for the Secondary School Entrance
Examination will disappear, and if the programme outlined in
the White Paper can be adhered to this examination will be set
for the last term in May, 1978.
/Ultimately......
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