No Selection say Hull Teachers ~ continued.
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Thirdly, the proposed senome could be nut into operation speedily, without waiting on an expe ensive new building prosranme.
All the city's existing srammar schools, plus the David Lister Rich, would become senior high , schools. All other Seconiary seh 1901s would be junior hich schools, with a minimum stanc standard of fa acilities (assembly/dining hall, library, laboratory, wc WOrkShovs y hous, gymnasium). People who know Hull schools well will realise that many of our older secondary schools cannot meet these requirements, but it is possible with all existing schools, plus the proposed new buildings programme th authority has already approved to nut this plan fally into overation within two years of accepting the scheme,
Speed is a vital factor in these discussions. Quite apart from considerations of sociel justice, there is the consideration of sheer numbers, By taking advantage of what the Crowther Revort called the "valley of the later sixties" Hull could vut this scheme into operation when the number of secondatfy school children will be relatively low. A second nonulation explosion will reach the secondary schools by 1972 and would make reorganisation more difficult and costly.
In the last resort we must ask ourselves what are we doing for our children ? And secondly, can it be improved ?
According to List 69 of the iiinistry of Education we had 5,216 children of 13 years for whom the authority was providing secondary education; 64 ner cent of these children were in secondary modern school, 10 per cent in technical and 11 ver cent i: tramnar schools. By comparison 26 per cent of boys in Huddersfield and 31 per cent of sirls in Lincoln are in grammar schools. These firures are quoted at length to show the absurdity of selection at 11,
How _ on earth can anyone seriously sucgest that the boys of Huddersficia are more ore tha. twice as intelligent as as the bovs of Pull, or that waree tincs as many Lincoln girls are worthv of BY rrannar school places as the girl in Hull ?
Althourh the figures are not strictly comparable the divermzence is wide enough to show the flaws that exist in selection.
Evidence such as the recent work in Manchester which susrests that Something like 50 ver cent of children may be wrongly »laced at eleven is the statistical proof of a system whose faults have been socially condemned for the misery and frustration it has caused.
The case for the comprehensive school is a nositive one. It can do for the puxil anythins that the grammar school can do, In addition, it can give meaning and vurnose to the Lives of children who vnder the present system are offered somethinz less than the best,
A system of education must be child-centred. Every child should receive an education which best fits his or her aptitude and needs, which is another way of saying that every child has a right to a good education, It is time to fit our schools to our children instead of fitting our children into schools. There are no grammar children, technical children or modern children~ there are only children, deserving of the best we can give them.
IP wre Tree