THE PETERITE Vol. LII
FEBRUARY, 1960
No. 353
EDITORIAL "What do you want to be when you grow up?" changes at some
indefinable moment to "What are you going to do when you leave school?" This more definite question narrows the distance considerably and demands a more thoughtful answer. During the past twenty years guidance on careers has assumed a much greater importance, as the scope for a boy leaving a Public School has widened and the competition has intensified. In an attempt to discover any pronounced trends in careers, a pamphlet of statistics has been published by the School, which covers the period from 1954 to 1959. The pamphlet deals with the proportion of Science and Arts students in the School, the number and age of leavers, the choice of career, University entry and Scholarships. w Five years is perhaps too short a time in which to discern any very definite trends, but it is certainly significant that Engineering and Commerce account for 44% of those who had any clear intentions on leaving school, whereas the professions (Medicine, the Church, the Services, the Law and Teaching) account for only 14%. Although very interesting in themselves, the statistics are even more valuable for the questions which they prompt. How would this survey compare with a similar one based on the present occupations of Old Boys who were at school twenty years ago? Would the statistics of a school of equal status in the South show the same trends? Is it possible that boys now tend to avoid occupations which necessitate a period of unpaid training after leaving school? How many boys take up an occupation similar to that of their father? Whatever conclusions are drawn, it is clear that boys can now profit from much advice and information about their careers, which was not available when their fathers were at school and when the percentage of "Undecided" was far higher, as were, we suspect, the numbers of those who took up an occupation in which they were not really interested.
O
HONOURS congratulate Sir Philip Morris, C.B.E. (1913-20), on being appointed 'Knight a night Commander of the Order of St. Micha el and ' St. George in the New Year's Honours List. Sir Philip Morris was recently Chairman of the Commonwealth Education Conference.
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