asked the Minister of Education if he approved of the recent examination arranged by the Dorset Education Committee to select two boys for bursaries to Eton, having regard to the fact that the Fleming Committee recommended that there should be no competitive examinations for bursaries in boarding schools under Schemes A and B and expressed the view that the segregation of abler children to send to boarding schools was socially and educationally wrong.

My approval was not required. While it is reasonable that local education authorities and school authorities should wish to satisfy themselves as to the ability of pupils to profit by the education at particular boarding schools, I should deprecate the holding of special competitive examinations for that purpose.