THE PETERITE Vol. XL
FEBRUARY, 1948
EDITORIAL
No. 317
It is becoming more and more evident that the independent Public Schools, relying as they do on their own financial resources, must be prepared to voyage in waters which will be seriously troubled by the nation's economic difficulties. The barometer is by no means "set fair". and if schools like our own are to continue to make their individual and distinctive contribution to the education of the country, they will have to solve difficult questions of ways and means. The departure from tradition in the recent appointment to the Rugby headmastership, whatever side one may take in the controversy it has aroused, underlines the urgency of the practical problems facing the Public Schools. One by one independent schools have been forced by the inescapable logic of rising costs to increase their fees. But such a remedy cannot be applied indefinitely. It must, if repeated, inevitably defeat its own end. The point of "diminishing returns", when larger fees would be offset by a decline in the numbers of those willing and able to pay them, will clearly be quickly reached. And when to the increasing difficulty of balancing revenue and expenditure is added the urgent need of capital expenditure on building and equipment, the importance of wise planning and financial administration becomes obvious. For such reasons as these we at St. Peter's must feel grateful indeed for the opportune bequest of £7.500 from the Executors of the late Mr. G. J. Wolstenholme, details of which are given in a note following this Editorial. Such generous benefactions can be of inestimable help in these days. No less encouraging is the widespread support for the War Memorial and Building Fund, which has grown steadily since the appeal was first launched some eighteen months ago. On the response to this appeal our future security and development must obviously in large measure depend. We have no reason to feel other than highly gratified : but it is equally clear that uncertainty will diminish proportionately to the rapidity of the fund's growth. To those responsible for the financial administration of the School the old tag "bis dat qui cito dat" must have a very real significance. Just as the nation is happy which has no history, so we must consider satisfactory the School term which calls for no editorial comment. There is little to be said of the Christmas Term save that
