(From Bristol)

The Headmaster of Bristol Grammar School, which on March 17th celebrates its 400th anniversary, will describe in this talk some of the interesting phases in the long history of an ancient school foundation. In Tudor times there was no state system of education, and the old grammar schools, in which men like Cardinal Wolsey and Shakespeare received their early training, owed their origin to the piety of individuals, mostly business men, who in this way made a lasting contribution to the future of their cities and country. In the course of four centuries vast changes have come about in the equipment and methods of school teaching, but the old tradition, and many old customs, live on in those historic schools, whose life is still rooted in that of the towns and cities to which they belong. In these days, when all instruction tends to be uniform, many of the older schools keep a measure of independence. and retain the English ideal of individuality, so far as modern conditions allow. The talk will say something about the early type of classical education, and how it has been adapted to the new outlook of to-day; touching also on the peculiarly English feature of school life, due to the influence of tradition - the fact that many sides of our education are the result of leadership among the boys themselves.