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When Dr. Rhodes Boyson was appointed Parliamentary Secretary at the Department of Education & Science, terror stalked the land. But then came the glad tidings that he was not to be in charge of the schools, unlike previous Parliamentary Secretaries; and there was rejoicing, at least among schoolteachers and informed parents. The martinet of Highbury Grove (less well‐known in his earlier role at Robert Montefiore) was not to be unleashed upon innocent children. That task would go to the Lady Young, whose lack of proven knowledge was at least balanced by her lack of known prejudice. Dr. Boyson would be reserved for higher education, about which he was deemed to have neither knowledge nor prejudice, never having hitherto pronounced upon the subject. There he could do little harm.

Dr. Rhodes Boyson, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Education & Science, assured the Standing Conference of Principals and Directors of Colleges and Institutions of Higher Education, held in London, that Higher Education was able to meet the demand for places from students.

Opinion is swinging against large educational institutions. The very large secondary schools which found favour particularly in the 1950s and 1960s with the then London County Council have proved almost unmanageable. Ony a few exceptional Heads, such as Dr. Rhodes Boyson, can run this type of school successfully.

The General Election is over, with the predicted result. Margaret Thatcher is in Downing Street/and Mark Carlisle (and Rhodes Boyson, from whom may the good Lord preserve us) in Elizabeth House. With them is Janet, the Baroness Young, as Minister of State; as far as I know her principal educational qualification, apart from her own degree, is to have been born the daughter of the Bursar of Jesus College, Oxford. Perhaps that is symbolic: the present Government shows every sign of being strong on finance — in the sense of cutting it — and weak on the content of education. Meanwhile Shirley Williams has departed from the scene, as have Margaret Jackson, Bryan Davies (a former FE teacher), Mike Noble (once chairman of Burnley LEA), and myself. We shall dispense with expertise: prejudices to the fore¡

From time to time a book is published which is not only important in itself but represents a turn in a political, economic, or social climate. The Rape of Reason is such a book

Britain needs skilled graduates and diplomates who are conscious that the UK must earn its living and compete successfully with other industrialised countries in the world marketplace, said Dr. Rhodes Boyson, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Department of Education & Science, addressing the Graduates Presentation Ceremony of the Science & Mathematics Departments of South Bank Polytechnic, London. He said:

I was a schoolmaster for 23 years and regard teaching as a great profession; but it would be wrong for us to ignore tendencies in the opposite direction which have harmed and can continue to harm the respect in which teachers are held. For too many years we recruited into teacher training at 18 some 40 per cent who did not have ‘O’‐level mathematics, and some 5 per cent who did not even have ‘O’‐level English. The recruitment of such low level candidates has now come to an end, and standards of teacher recruitment would steadily rise. Two ‘A’‐levels would in general be necessary for teacher recruits from Autumn 1980; Maths and English ‘O’‐levels would be required for all leaving teacher training in 1984. With about half of the newly‐qualified having post‐graduate certificates after obtaining a normal degree, and almost all the rest having the new style Bachelor of Education degree, teaching would be very close to achieving an all‐graduate entry.

Voluntary service to the community is a tradition in this country, and one of which we can be justifiably proud. Many of the services which are now taken for granted owe their existence to the voluntary efforts of enlightened men and women who were willing to give their time, talents and money for the benefit of the community, with education being no exception. We believe a reduction in public expenditure is necessary if we are to bring down inflation and create conditions necessary for the resumption and sustainment of economic growth. However important we feel adult education to be, we have to give priority in expenditure to compulsory provision and that for which other sources of income are traditionally not available. This is likely to mean either some reduction in adult provision, or some increase in the fees charged for it.

There are a number of parallels and a number of differences between schools and factories. Both have to be managed well to bring maximum effort and ‘production’ out of the labour force but the product of schools is not easily measurable nor is it likely to be increased by mechanisation or scientific advance. It is as well to recognise these two areas of difference when people talk about business management courses for teachers and the growth of educational technology.

We live at a time when it is not only a fashion to build schools big, but when education authorities are enlarged until they cover wide areas in the belief that size is a synonym for efficiency. The “Small is beautiful” school of thought is, however, growing into a powerful movement; so it may not be an inopportune time to question whether the larger education authorities will be as efficient as their smaller predecessors.