I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether any, and what changes are contemplated in the entry examinations for the Royal Military Academy and the Royal Military College; and, if so, when it is proposed to bring them into force?
The changes contemplated are—in the Royal Military Academy, to make "chemistry and heat" an obligatory subject, and to make "Latin" a voluntary subject; to divide "higher mathematics" into two subjects (and include the calculus), and to increase the number of marks given for colloquial knowledge of French and German. In the Royal Military College the only change proposed is to increase the number of marks given for colloquial knowledge of modern languages. For both the Royal Military Academy and the Royal Military College, to revise the regulations concerning the medical examination in the direction recommended by the Committee on Entrance Examinations which reported last year. The regulations necessary to give effect to the proposed changes are now in course of preparation, and those changes which affect the programme of examination will not be given effect to without due and sufficient notice.
asked whether the preponderance of evidence before the Departmental Committee recently appointed by him was hostile to the first of these changes; whether the present regulations to which the public schools had had to adapt themselves were only of two years' standing; and whether he had received a protest from the Head Masters' Conference, representing 85 public schools of the first grade, against the change.
said, he was not aware that a formal protest had been received, but, no doubt, one would be received of the kind referred to. The only change of importance was the introduction of scientific subjects in regard to the Academy; the other changes were of comparatively little importance. He did not know that the preponderance of the evidence before the Committee told against the change referred to; he thought the evidence was much in favour of it.
asked whether each Paper could not in future be considered by two examiners instead of one. Such an arrangement would be more satisfactory.
said that was a matter of administration under the Civil Service Commissioners, but he would give attention to the point. ["Hear, hear."]