Special Examination For Upper VI Forms

Press, Volume C, Issue 29468, 21 March 1961, Page 17

Special Examination For Upper VI Forms

Provision of a new examination qualification between university entrance and junior university scholarship to give incentive to pupils in upper sixth forms was proposed by Mr E. R. Hounsell when he gave the chairman's address to the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry last evening. He was formerly senior sicence master at Christ’s College and is now liaison officer between post-primary schools and the University of Canterbury. Mr Hounsell said there was a big need for incentives among those in the upper sixth form who did not aspire to junior university scholarships. "Htis could be given by qualification for bursaries in a more restricted range of subjects with nc lowering of general standards. Mr Hounsell said he must confess to a prejudice against general science on its own. If he accepted it it would be on the condition that 10 periods a week were devoted to general science (the usual number was six) and that chemistry, biology, and physics be taught separtely. if necessary, by different teachers. He traversed the proportions of pupils entering secondary school, sitting school certificate and university entrance and then graduating from the university and the subjects taken. Chemistry Pre-requisite “School certificate chemistry appears to me to be a pre-requisite to the study of university entrance chemistry.” Mr Hounsell said. The preferred course leading to the university seemed to be advancing on a very narrow front. Members of the Institute of Chemistry should surely be interested. Was this the ideal course or was it the most practical? A complication was the choice of technical drawing because it might be a pupil s strong subject but. unfortunately. in many cases it excluded the study of chemistry. Such pupils would probably not begin chemistry until the upper sixth form which was inadequate preparation. The university could not be expected to teach elementary chemistry. Chemistry 1 was not like an ordinary unit of a degree for which a substitute could be offered Late-etarting students in the bachelor of engineering degree, who did scrape through chemistry 1. thought their troubles were over. One had only to glance at the engineering materials 1 first professional paper to realise the shock waiting for them. . "Those with experience of these problems are not impressed by the claims for inclusion of technical

drawing in the university entrance,” said Mr Hounsell.

The great weakness in the upper sixth form was the lack of incentive, Mr Hounsell said. For the few who worked for a junior university scholarship there was some stimulus but the rest simply took the higher school certificate. Some of them could, no doubt, reach a satisfactory standard in scholarship chemistry but were deterred by the fivesubject requirement, usually involving English. “If they could sit fewer subjects, a great many more could be provided with that much-needed incentive,” said Mr Hounsell.

The majority of students today approached university stage I examinations as the first they had had to sit since school certificate. “We need an examination suitable for the majority and here the junior university scholarship does not fit the requirements,” said Mr Hounsell. “An examination between the levels of university entrance and junior university scholarship is wanted.” This examination should carry a bursary so that higher school certificate would be awarded on merit to those who reached a pre-determined standard. It was easy to suggest another examination but this in itself would be a major undertaking and there was still a shortage of teachers. Humanities

While advocating earlier attention to chemistry for those proposing to take the subject at university. Mr Hounsell said he thought the present upper sixth course with chemistry might be leavened with some study of the humanities. He suggested history—not necessarily the university entrance course, but one more suited to the needs of this group. To do this, the content of other subtects (usually English, mathematics, physics, chemistry, and additional mathematics or biology) might be reduced by one fifth and a sixth subject introduced Junior university scholarship English might also be revised to suit this group better. A pass in any three subjects could entitle a pupil to a bursary provided he had had suitable instruction in three others. English and one other humanity should be included in the six subjects offered. German would be a suitable replacement for history. Mr Hounsell said There would then be a five subject university scholarship suitable for about 20 per cent, and the others should be able to cope with the three subject intermediate examination.