Concern Over Holiday Period

Rushden primary schoolteachers and parents are concerned about the effect that the county council’s rearrangement of holiday periods will have on the children.

The changes introduced by the County Council Education Committee mean that the Whitson holiday has been shortened to five from ten days and the long summer holiday is now nearly eight weeks. Before, it was just over six weeks.

These two changes bring the holidays of primary schools into line with the secondary and grammar schools.

One Rushden Headmaster said that a commission set up to look into the question of holidays for primary school children came to the conclusion that long periods of work without an adequate break were not good for children; also that long holidays were inadvisable as children “went back too much.”

Schools in Rushden agreed with these conclusions and they have been able to give children at least a full week’s holiday in the middle of term.

He said that now the summer holidays had been increased the schools had less occasional days which could be used to make up long half-term holidays.

The County Council had to make a firm stand as it had received complaints from parents about children in primary schools having different school holidays from those in grammar and secondary schools.

Head’s View

Mr. R. R. Lawrence, headmaster of Alfred Street Primary School, Rushden, said: “I would rather have frequent small holidays for the children.”

The protest action taken by teachers in the Wellingborough and Rushden Schoolmasters’ Association at Rushden Secondary School for Boys has had very little effect on the working of the school out of normal hours.

The teachers, members of the National Association of Schoolmasters, have suspended all their activities normally undertaken out of school hours as a token protest against an implication they feel was contained in a report of the management side of the Burnham Committee that teaching is a part time job.

Rushden parents express doubts

Rushden parents like many others in the county are eagerly if somewhat apprehensively waiting for the Northamptonshire County Council to bring out their new proposals in relation to comprehensive education.

Last July the County Council split dramatically over comprehensive education, and threw out a proposed scheme for “straight through” comprehensive schools, by a majority of two.

The resolution which was defeated was that the long term aid should be to provide “straight through” comprehensive schools with an age range from 11-18, while the short term policy would be to implement the same system as is operating in the Corby area.

Next month the County Council will discuss a revised plan and it is expected, by most experts, to be accepted.

Rushden has no grammar school so its problems are somewhat peculiar to the area, yet educationalists are understandably reserved on the subject of comprehensive schools until they know the full details of how the new plan might affect Rushden.

Strong words and forthright opinions are sure to be voiced when the plans are known, but the “echo” decided to make a spot check among some of the parents in the town to see what their views on the general idea of some form of comprehensive education would be.

The people interviewed were picked at random and so we could not attempt to say whether this is the general consensus of opinion throughout the town.

Probably the most striking revelation to come out of this check was the fact that several parents seemed totally uninformed about the whole aspect of comprehensive education and worse still, that many had no firm views at all on the subject and seemed almost to be unconcerned about their children’s education – something which surely cannot be true.

The first woman interviewed a housewife with young children, agreed with comprehensive education. She thought it would be a good thing.

She also agreed with keeping the 11 plus examination and the whole aspect of selection of pupils to grammar schools and secondary schools.

Don’t Know

Surely this is another way of saying “I do not really know the full meaning of comprehensive education but it sounds as though it might be a good idea.”

Several mothers agreed with comprehensive education but did not fully realise what it would involve. Many with younger children thought it would be inevitable by the time their children reached 11 or12 years of age.

Out of perhaps a dozen fathers interviewed the majority were against a new system but several reserved the right to change their minds once they knew clearly how such a system would be adopted in Rushden.

Other opinions included one Rushden housewife from High Street South, who broached the subject of nervousness in examinations.

She said that her nine-year-old son was very good in class but very nervous at examinations and that this could mean the difference between a place in a secondary school and a grammar school.

“It is too early at that age for education selection,” she added.

She came out in favour of comprehensive education.

The impersonal atmosphere, the large unwieldy classes and the limited opportunities for the above average pupil, were many of the reasons put forward against comprehensive education.

The views of headmasters and educationalists are most important in many ways for they can explain to the parents what comprehensive education is, what its many forms are, and what are its advantages and disadvantages.

In a month their views will be known and if a scheme of comprehensive education is approved for Northamptonshire parents will be fully informed.

One parent, however, who seemed to be very conversant with the aims and ideas of comprehensive education, was Mrs. P. Akroyd, 132 Wymington Road, Rushden.

“I am in favour of comprehensive education if it will end the 11-plus examination, because so much depends on that examination and it depends on how the child feels on that certain day.

“Comprehensive education means that a different type of curriculum will be needed, but the government will not agree to any further expenditure to implement the scheme. Until they do I cannot see how it will work,” she said.

“Parents do not see the difficulties in teaching children of all intelligences in one class. Low intelligence will not rub off because the children are being taught with some who are more advanced, but they will be overshadowed by the brighter pupils. In turn the brighter pupils will not have the incentive to do better,” she added.

These are the main points of the views of a woman who has gone deeply into the subject, and her last words certainly produce some food for thought.