Talking Point for 1957

subjects at "A" level. Those who cannot obtain the necessary "A" levels can enter by sitting competitive examinations arranged by the Civil Service Commissioners. Details of these examinations are published in the Careers Room from time to time.

The hosts at the Annual Conference of the Public Schools Appointments Bureau were British Railways. It is perhaps unnecessary to stress in York the great value of a railway training, but it is perhaps necessary to emphasise that great opportunities exist for boys who enter the railway service now. The Development Plan will provide interesting and satisfying work for many years to come in all fields of engineering, and on the traffic and commercial sides. The afternoon session was devoted to Overseas Banking and it was pointed out, that despite increasing nationalism, there are still excellent opportunities of exciting careers abroad in British banks.

Early this term details of the Easter holiday Short Works Courses should be available and I should like to take this opportunity of re-emphasising the great value of these courses, either to the boy who has no idea of what he is going to do or to the boy who cannot make up his mind about several possibilities. Finally I should like to mention the Public Schools Appointments Bureau Bulletin which is published twice each term. This contains much valuable and upto-date information on careers and gives details of current opportunities. A copy is placed in the Careers Room and one is available in each House. The Bulletin is well worth consulting, especially if you are nearing the end of your period at School. K.G.C.

Is it better to have a highly specialised taste for the complicated things of life or a wider appreciation of the simple and elemental? This is a question which frequently crops up in these days of conflicting ideas on education and philosophy, a question which must surely cause no little concern to any young person who wishes to lead a really full and appreciative life in this age of science.

The response of the human mind to the primary media of beauty such as colour, harmony, line or texture is rapidly being conditioned and engulfed by the advance of science. It would seem that we have now reached a stage in our development where we cannot appreciate a work of art without first analysing and pigeon-holing it : deciding, in fact, whether or not we ought to appreciate it. It is a sad fact, that many people are incapable of appreciating a work of art without careful consideration as to whether it conforms, harmonically, chromatically or socially, with the generally accepted prototype.

Thus it appears that one result of scientific development is a growing tendency to divide and subdivide everything into categories. 26