§ 45. Mr. Hector Hughesasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he is aware of the efforts made by the Department of Speech Education and Speech Therapy of Aberdeen Corporation to teach the value of drama, clear articulation, fluency and self-confidence in speech, despite the absence of appropriate examinations and the emphasis on written as distinct from 143W spoken English; and if he will support their efforts by authorising O level tests in spoken English in the schools under his jurisdiction.
§ Mr. NobleYes, and I greatly welcome efforts of this sort to improve the standard of spoken English in the schools, but I do not think it would be practicable to try to test this in the examination for the Scottish Certificate of Education.