PRIVATE SCHOOLS
Sta,—I should be very interested to hear at what time during his curiously ubiquitous scholastic career " Ex Dominic " attended his four Preparatory Schools. I feel sure that his experiences took place some considerable ' time ago. All my own boys over eleven are allowed out on their own and are encouraged to go for all-day excursions on Sundays. Many returning from Public Schools complain of the lack of freedom there. The boys under eleven do have supervision out of school bounds, and here I think " Ex Dominie's " logic is at fault when he compares children of this age with boys at Public Schools, who are almost all over fourteen, until now the State School leaving age.
Last week I was at the annual conference of the I.A.P.S.* and found that my case was not unique, and all the headmasters to whom I spoke give as much, if not more, liberty to their boys. All fourteen of our mistresses are Froebel trained with a B. of E. teaching certificate, and five out of fifteen masters hold B. of E. teaching certificates. No Public School I know has more than two " trained " teachers.
" Ex Dominic " suggests that Preparatory Schools have stultifying and almost perpetual supervision. Will he then explain how it is possible for there to be so much bullying and dirty talk? In any good Preparatory School, and the majority which have survived are good, the boys are much too busy and interested in their school life and personal hobbies to bother about dirty talk, and cases of bullying are few and far between. Finally, " Ex Dominic " may be surprised to learn that I am not without experience of Public and Secondary School work.—Yours faithfully,
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