HC Deb 28 November 1968 vol 774 cc709-10
24. Mr. van Straubenzee

asked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will make a statement on the publication, "Comprehensive Education in England and Wales", prepared by the National Foundation for Educational Research, a copy of which has been sent to him.

The Secretary of State for Education and Science (Mr. Edward Short)

It analyses the results of a fact-finding exercise in 1966 based on 331 comprehensive schools. A more intensive and up-to-date study is already under way.

Mr. van Straubenzee

While appreciating that this is only an interim report, and that it certainly does not vitiate the increasing educational view that selection at the age of 11 is educationally unwise, may I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether it does not also show that it is necessary for all political parties, before insisting on comprehensive education in all its aspects in every part of the country, to treat it with some considerable caution?

Mr. Short

Yes, of course, any educational development needs to be treated with caution. I have looked very carefully at the report. I hope the hon. Gentleman will do me the honour of reading a speech I made yesterday to the National Foundation for Educational Research when, among other things, I sought to put into its right perspective a comment which The Times had made on this subject. Perhaps he will read the article and we can discuss it together.

Mr. Christopher Price

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the greatest difficulty the N.F.E.R. had in drawing up this report was that it was unable to find sufficient genuinely comprehensive schools and not as many statistics as it hoped there would be, and does it not point to the fact that we need rapidly to eliminate grammar schools in the comprehensive areas so that we can have more genuinely comprehensive schools on which to base any research at all?

Mr. Short

Yes, that is perfectly true. This report, which because of a number of factors, was rather long delayed, was based on the situation in 1966, so that I think we ought to be very wary about drawing any conclusion from it.