an En The following letter was alsc sent to Tribune, the Times Uducational Supplement and Nottingham Voice.
It is difficult to understand how Alderman Greer#, writing in Tribune November 14th, can consider the Nottingham bilsteral system to be "a comprehensive pattern (with a small 'tc')",
His letter, when read with the 1963 Annual Rerort of his “ducation Committee would sugzest that it is a multi-partite system, segregated at 11 by means of verbal reasoning tests and teachers' assessments, About one per cent first-class ability children fo to direct grant or independent schoo ,s; about 16 per cent second-class ability children go to gramuar schools; another 16 ner cent third-slass ability children zo to GCE streams in bilateral schools with a later opportunity to transfer to grammar school sixth forms; about 47 ver cent lucky fourth-class ability children go to non-GCE streams in bilateral schools; and 20 per cent unlucky fourth-class children still so to secondary modern schools with out GCE streams,
The introduction of this system seven years ago was a progressive move extending grammar-type education and reducing parental worry over the 11-plus, but it is not comprehensive, It uses a selective yvrocess at 10-plus with all its imolications of labelline children: although recogniaing the "late-developer", it has not really escaped from the outmoded doctrine of fixedrabilities since it still "separates the cream" The Committee admits that it is failing to convince its eramnar school teachers of their duty to succeed with their less-able vnuvrils.
Should not the Labour Education Committee in Nottinghan be considering how this system can be transformed quickly and smoothly into a fully comprehensive one in accordance with the declared volicy of the Labour Government ?
In conclusion, I should like to welcome Alderman Green's comments on the imnortance of tackine problems in primary education, but these are parallel and inter-related, not alternative, priorities.
Yours sincerely,