§ 104. Mr. Marloweasked the Minister of Education why her relaxation of the 16-year old rule for entrants for the General Certificate Examination does not become operative until next year; and whether she will bring this into effect as from the December examination this year.
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§ Miss HorsbrughThe autumn examination is generally regarded as supplementary to the summer examination of the same year; and it is important that the heads of schools should have proper notice of any major changes in examination arrangements. For these reasons, I have been reluctant to modify the decision that I announced last January to make no change in the published arrangements for the 1952 examinations. I should of course be ready to consider any advice that the Secondary School Examinations Council might wish to offer me on the question whether the changes recently announced should apply to the examinations that will be held this autumn.