A.—2

15

The upper limit of age at which candidates are permitted to compete for admission to the Royal Military Academy will remain at 19| years, as at present. It will be reduced to 19 years eventually, but due notice will be given as to the date from which the reduction will take effect. 2. Limits of Age for Entrance to the Royal Military College. The lo.wer limit of age at which candidates are permitted to compete for admission to the Royal Military College will be reduced from 17| to 17 years, commencing with the competitive examination to be held in June-July, 1912. The extension of the course at the Royal Military College from two terms to three terms will first apply to a portion of the successful candidates at the competitive examination to be held in June-July, 1912. The upper limit of age at which candidates are permitted to compete for admission to the Royal Military College will remain at 19| years, as at present. It will be reduced to 19 years eventually, but due notice will be given as to the date from which the reduction will take effect. 3. Age for Admission to Army Qualifying Examinations. The age for admission to the Army qualifying examinations is reduced from 17 years to 16 years for the examinations to be held in September, 1911, and March, 1912, after which no further examinations will be held by the Army Qualifying Board (see paragraph 6 (/) ). 4, Conditions for Issue of Leaving Certificate (for Army Purposes). The definition of a leaving certificate (for Army purposes) hitherto given in the regulations for admission to the Royal Military Academy and the Royal Military College, and in the regulations under which commissions in the Regular Army may be obtained through other channels of entry, is cancelled, and the following definition is substituted : " A leaving certificate for Army purposes is a certificate which testifies to a certain standard of proficiency in the subjects stated in these regulations, and which is granted by certain bodies to candidates not less than 16 years of age who have attended a course of study at a school approved by the Army Council." 5. Antedating of Commissions granted to Candidates nominated by the Universities. The question of the antedating of commissions granted to candidates nominated by the universities is at present receiving the consideration of the Army Council, and a decision will shortly be published. 6. Army Entrance Examinations from Ist April, 1912. The various regulations under which commissions may now be obtained in the Regular Army will, subject to the above-mentioned changes, continue in force until the 31st March, 1912. New regulations to give effect to the following decisions, which concern only the literary exami nations for entrance to the Regular Army, will shortly be issued, and will come into force from Ist April, 1912 :— (a.) The possession pf a leaving certificate, or of a certificate of having passed the Army qualifying examination, will not be included in the qualifications required for admission to a competitive examination for the Royal Military Academy or the Royal Military College. The possession of such a certificate will not exempt a competitor at an examination held after the 31st March, 1912, from the necessity of qualifying in certain obligatory subjects (see paragraph 6 (c)). These certificates will, however, retain their value as qualifications in other respects (see subparagraph 6 (c) ). (&.) The examinations for admission to the Royal Military Academy and Royal Military College to be held in the summer of 1912, and each half-year subsequently, will be conducted as heretofore by the Civil Service Commissioners, and will be named "Army entrance examinations." These examinations will combine the functions of the present examinations for leaving certificates (for Army purposes), the present Army qualifying examinations, and the present competitive examinations for admission to the Royal Military Academy and Royal Military College. (c.) A candidate for admission to the Royal Military Academy or Royal Military College by competition will, in order to be eligible to be included in the list of successful competitors at an Army entrance examination, be required to qualify at that examination in each of the obligatory subjects* for admission to the Royal Military Academy or Royal Military College respectively. The aggregate of the marks in the obligatory and optional subjects* obtained by a candidate who qualifies in the obligatory subjects will decide his place on the competitive list. The qualification gained by a candidate at an Army entrance examination will not exempt him from the necessity of qualifying for competitive purposes at any subsequent Army entrance examination. (d.) Candidates for commissions in the Regular Army other than candidates for admission to the Royal Military Academy or Royal Military College by competition, and those admitted to the Royal Military College on the nomination of the Army Council (see Memorandum B), viz. : — (1.) Candidates for admission to the Royal Military College as King's Cadets, Honorary King's Cadets, King's Indian Cadets, Honorary King's Indian Cadets, and Pages of Honour ; (2.) Officers of the Special Reserve, the Malta, the Bermuda, and the Channel Islands Militia, and officers of the Territorial Force ; (3.) Officers of the Colonial Military Forces ;

* For table of subjects, see subparagraph 6 (</) of this memorandum.