A LOOK back through the Malvern Gazette's of the past underlines the huge changes to which the education system in this country is regularly subjected.

Twenty-five years ago some parents were up in arms after it was announced at speech day that the Chase High School was considering the introduction of mixed ability teaching.

"This teaching is far from being a proven success nationally, is extremely hard to administer and there have been too many failures already. The nation cannot afford any more failures," wrote one parent.

"Already increasing illiteracy, falling numbers of passes in GCE and other national exams, and indiscipline reflect the fact that some of the older, well-tried methods of teaching should never have been sacrificed at the alter of 'progress'.

"These idealistic experiments are carried out with our children as guinea pigs, and a parent cannot prevent a headmaster using his child for these experimental purposes."

Another parent's comments on the dangers of state education might strike some resonance with teachers in view of events over the last 25 years.

"Given some political hack as Minister of Education and a horde of pseudo-scientific crackpots as his advisers some fairly asinine policies are bound to result. Herein lies the weakness of state education, lurching and swaying as it does through a fog of educational theory, driven by election results and popular pressures."

A teacher wrote to the Gazette urging parents to give the new system a try.

"If it is found to be unsuccessful it is unlikely that such a scheme would continue, but many schools today operate a very successful mixed ability situation and would certainly not revert to the traditional teaching."

Go back 25 years earlier and Malvern was facing an even greater educational upheaval; that brought about by the 1944 Education Act.

This introduced free secondary education for all children up to the age of 16, and laid down that, for the first time, education from the age of 12 would take place in schools separate from the primary sector.

The Act also set up three types of secondary schools:

n Secondary Modern, "intended to suit pupils who deal more easily with concrete things than with ideas."

n Secondary Technical, "for pupils whose interests and abilities lie markedly in the field of applied science and applied art."

n Secondary Grammar, "for pupils interested in learning for its own sake; and who can grasp an argument or follow a piece of connected reasoning."

Different schools, of course, meant selection.

In the Gazette, Coun C. J. Carter, Malvern's representative on the County Education Committee, said the aim of the system was not the selection of the "cleverest" children for grammar schools.

He urged schools and parents not to give children special coaching for Grammar School Admission Exams.

"The more successful coaching is in improving the performance of candidates, the more harm it does in defeating the Education Committee's aim of selecting by ability, he said.

Even 100 years ago education was at the centre of public debate in the pages of the Gazette.

In this case it was the future of the church-run voluntary schools in Malvern, which were suffering from a shortage of funds.

The only alternative, if more donations could not be found, was to have schools run by the Council, and that was an option the Malvern Gazette was not prepared to contemplate.

"No one, we are certain, desires to see a School Board here, because it would mean at least an additional 8d. in the pound!" said its editorial.