§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science whether he will consider seeking powers to enable local education authorities to give headmasters discretion as to when secondary school pupils in their final term may leave at dates after 1st June each year.
§ Mr. ArmstrongNo. But my right hon. Friend is resuming his study of views collected from local authority and teachers' organisations on the idea of an earlier statutory school leaving date in the summer term.
§ Mr. Corbettasked the Secretary of State for Education and Science when he expects to announce the results of a review carried out by Her Majesty's Inspectorate into the difficulties caused by the obligation for schools to retain pupils in their final year until the end of the summer term.
§ Mr. ArmstrongMy right hon. Friend is drawing on the experience and observations of Her Majesty's inspectors in the course of assessing the effects of the first full year of the higher school leaving age.116W The position of those pupils for whom the statutory leaving date is the end of the summer term constitutes one aspect. This has not been the subject of a separate review.