§ Sir W. Robson Brownasked the Minister of Education whether he will take steps to arrange for all children leaving school at the age of 15 to be required to be examined in reading and writing and to pass a minimum standard therein; and whether, arising out of such an examination, he will arrange for the collection and publication of statistics showing the number of school-leavers at age 15 who fall below the required standard.
§ Sir D. EcclesI have accepted the advice of the Secondary School Examinations Council that external examinations (other than the General Certificate of Education) for 15-year-old pupils are undesirable, and that it would be a retrograde step to introduce nationally recognised examinations other than the G.C.E. for pupils leaving at this age.