Careers

to Antwerp the visibility was never more than one mile, and just as we reached the worst part of the river, at Bat, it became solid and we had to anchor in a hurry. This time the fog lasted for 21 hours. Once it cleared we were able to get off the entrance to the docks. But we had a seven hour wait before entering. The cargo discharge took four hours and we were off again. This time the fog kept away until we were out at sea bound for Bremen. Just after we passed the Texel Light Ship the fog started again and lasted all the way : not too pleasant when one is going along the coastal route in the swept Channel. Cargo discharge at Bremen took four hours and then we sailed for Liverpool. When off Dover we got that snorter of a gale with the wind blowing force 9."

The voyage had lasted 138 days altogether and the distance was 27,568 miles.

Capt. Graham sent us a great deal of material—port plans drawn by an apprentice; a full narrative of the voyage; brochures picked up at various ports; and an account of some of the main ports visited. All this made a valuable contribution to the Junior School Geography section of the Science Exhibition. One of the best items was a very attractive framed photograph of the "Clan Stewart" going up the Weser to Bremen.

Voyage 12 is now almost half over. The ship sailed from Liverpool on 25th February for Lobito Bay with 900 tons of mixed cargo—steel work, machinery, footwear, motor cars, electric cable, girders, galvanised iron, textiles and foodstuffs—with further cargo for Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, East London and Mauritius. That for Mauritius was 1,133 tons of paints, coils of wire, glass, machinery, soap, window frames, steel bars, waste paper, provisions and loose bricks-75,000 of them.

From Mauritius the "Clan Stewart" proceeded to Calcutta—not a popular port with seamen at this time of year—and is there at the time of writing. Homeward cargo will be from Calcutta and other Indian ports, probably Madras and Cochin.

Six boys attended Short Works Courses during the Easter holidays, a disappointingly small number in a School where over a period of five years the most popular careers entered by leavers have been the various branches of engineering and commerce. Details are now available of the summer courses, arranged through the Public Schools' Appointments Bureau, and senior boys are strongly urged to consider applying for places on appropriate courses if they feel it would be useful to gain experience to confirm or change their plans for the future. Attendance does not commit the boy (or the company) in any way at all. Though the majority of courses are naturally 32

intended for scientists and mathematicians, there are various courses catering for non-scientific students in banking, civil aviation, automobile engineering, general manufacturing, insurance, railway operation, the retail trade and textiles.

For the first time the School was represented on the course arranged through the Bureau at Ashridge College early in April. The course is designed to give the arts student an opportunity of finding out what opportunities there are for him in business and industry. Unlike the Short Works Courses, the Ashridge Course costs each candidate £5 (the total cost is £8, but industry provides a subsidy), but there is little doubt that the high standard of the talks and discussions, coupled with excellent hospitality make it good value for money. A short report of this year's course follows.

During the term we had two careers talks; one on Architecture by the Head of the School of Architecture in Hull University and the other on Salesmanship by Mr. Higham, chief employment manager of Rowntree and Co. Ltd. In a witty and informative talk Mr. Higham showed that the salesman is a very important member of the business team. Sales work is still often thought of as a last resort for the public schoolboy and in certain fields this is probably still true. Our speaker showed, however, that generally the salesman needs to be as fit, as intelligent and as resourceful as the man responsible for manufacture. As far as technical sales are concerned, where the salesman will probably be selling to technical experts, he will need to have much more than a smooth line of patter and a charming smile. Sales work can often lead to rewarding managerial work. At the moment two Old Peterites are training to be technical salesmen in the steel industry and one of them, at least, knows that he will probably eventually be sent overseas, the most likely place being New Zealand. K.G.C.

Conference at Ashridge College, 31st March to 3rd April, 1959

The object of the conference was primarily to inform arts students about different aspects of business life, and the positions which they could expect to hold in it.

On arrival at the College we were given tea, shown our bedrooms, and had time to see some of the magnificent house with its surrounding parkland before the conference began.

We were welcomed by members of the Ashridge faculty and representatives of the Public Schools' Appointments Bureau. We were then given an introductory talk by two of the resident instructors on the growth, composition and management of a typical small business, followed by some of the problems of administration in a larger concern.

The second day of the course began with a talk on "Industry and Commerce" by Mr. Davies, the educational officer of Cadbury's. 33