Middle-class education : scheme of the West of England examination and prizes, for June, 1857 : with introductory remarks addressed to members of the Universities / by T.D. Acland ; to which are appended the letters of the Rev. F. Temple, submitted to the Councils of Oxford and Cambridge ; together with letters from the Vice-Chancellors and other members of the Universities, and masters of grammar and commercial schools.

  • Acland, Sir Thomas Dyke, 1809-1898.
Date:
1857
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Middle-class education : scheme of the West of England examination and prizes, for June, 1857 : with introductory remarks addressed to members of the Universities / by T.D. Acland ; to which are appended the letters of the Rev. F. Temple, submitted to the Councils of Oxford and Cambridge ; together with letters from the Vice-Chancellors and other members of the Universities, and masters of grammar and commercial schools. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    to be to restore educational equilibrium by giving a fillip to the class who have hitherto been the most neglected. So strongly did I feel this ten years ago or more, that, as Secretary to our Cambridge Board of Education, I endeavoured (though unsuccessfully) to extend the influence of the Board to the middle schools of the district, at least to such as might be ready to welcome our aid. Now comes the question which you have practically raised, Can the middle schools be assisted by the Universities, and how? Leaving details to be settled at a future time, I cannot help believing that a system of examinations conducted by the Universities, and having all the weight of character which the Universities could give them, is perfectly feasible, and would be productive of the most unspeakable benefits. As a guide to reading in the schools throughout the country such examinations would be invaluable; examinations are in fact, as we know here from experience, the only efficient guide to reading : the Senate-house here gives the law to tutors; and if a good examination were carried on throughout the country, the schools would have to model their studies accordingly as a matter of necessity. Nor would the competition amongst different schools be an unim- portant consideration. Barents would naturally regard success in the University examinations as a fair test of the merit of a school; they would select schools for their children accordingly, and—which is more important—they would have the means of knowing, when their sons came to a certain age, whether they had learned anything or not. And unquestionably a certificate of having passed a creditable examination before the Oxford or Cambridge examiners would have an estimable, and a very considerable, actual money value in the com- mercial world. I have been informed, on good authority, that already several banking houses in the City have made it a rule not to admit any clerk who does not bring with him a Society of Arts’ certificate; and, I think, without any undue conceit of the standing of the old Universities, one may conclude, d fortiori, that a certificate from one of them would be recognised extensively as a pass-ticket to commercial employment. In such ways as these I apprehend that what is called Middle Education might be benefited by a system of University examinations. In so saying, I would especially guard myself against being supposed to imply that by such means it would be possible to communicate to the middle classes the peculiar advantages of Oxford and Cambridge. No examinations can be a substitute for residence; and those features of University life Avhich chiefly make Oxford and Cambridge what they are, and to which you and I probably look back as amongst the most blessed influences ever brought to bear upon us, must still be reserved for those who are able and willing to give several years to unbroken University study. But because we cannot give all, we need not hesitate to give what wre can ; and while residence must be confined to comparatively few, the benefits of examination may be conferred upon a multitude. But how would the schools themselves accept the scheme? It seems to me that you have done a good deal towards