Organisation, Curriculum, and Standard of Work (continued)

GERMAN

German (between which and Latin boys were formerly given a choice in IIA and IIB) is now studied below the sixth form only by those in the B forms, except in the fifths, where it continues for the present to be alternative to Latin. The boys in the fifth-form set are joined by two from IVA who started the language under the former arrangement. The subject may be begun also in the sixth form; at this level it is being taken by thirteen boys in all, of whom one is in the upper sixth and eight (including three who started it last year) in the middle sixth.

Most of the German teaching is in the hands of a master who also. teaches French, but the headmaster takes IVB and some of the work in the sixth form. This year the school also has an Assistant. Four periods a week are assigned to German in. forms below the sixth. This is short commons, since those who take the subject now are not normally among the ablest linguists of their age-group, and the result is to restrict the amount of non-translational writing in the language, and also of reading and of oral work. The shortness of their previous courses is apparent in the work of most of the sixth-formers, whose limited vocabularies permit them to cover their programme of set books only very slowly. The boys' written work is corrected most carefully, and their general progress is probably as good as could reasonably be expected in the general circumstances.

In the German section of the school library, criticism and language are represented, and there is a good range of authors; but the books on the shelves need re-sorting.

MATHEMATICS

This subject is in the hands of a young enthusiastic team whose experience is almost completely confined to this school. It is a tribute to their energy and competence that the quality of the work shows little sign either of this inexperience or of the difficulties encountered last year arising from the prolonged 11lness and untimely death of the previous head of the department.

The allocation and distribution of periods for ordinary-level work is quite satisfactory, and a commendable variety of course has been arranged to meet the needs of boys of differing abilities. There is some promising and challenging work in statistics, in which there has been an admirable endeavour to relate the work to the everyday experience of the boys and the school. Unfortunately, by preventing complete setting, the four-year course for the most able is limiting the use which may be made of this flexibility of course and 18 restricting the work in statistics to the less gifted boys. Without this handicap statistics might be offered to a wider range of boys and thereafter might be extended into the sixth-for programme to provide an ancillary subject for the economics department and for sixth-form biology when this develops.

In the sixth form difficulties have arisen from the attempt to combine for teaching purposes those who are offering at advanced level two mathematical subjects with those who are taking one. This has led to a time-allocation inadequate for one group and too generous for the other, with the added disadvantage of setting based on ability in physics or chemistry, which does not necessarily correspond with mathematical competence or interest. Consideration should be given to the possibility of dividing the sixth-form work in mathematics on the basis of separate mathematical and science groups. This should enable the more efficient deployment of the promising teaching ability available and at the

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