Figure 1.--.
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Figure 1.--. |
The second Payne-Cook Spelling Competition was held after half-term in Februry, 1988. There was a noticeable improvement in the standard. Eight boys scored 100/100, which forced a 'spell-off', which was won by Sam Perowne. Robin Davies was in the 'spell-off' for the second year running. In 1987 only 25 boys scored 90 or more. This year 45 achieved this high level. Many individuals increased their scores hugely, and are to be congratulated on their hard work. Special mention should be made of Grry Price's outstanding achievement. Still not eight years old and a member of Form 1, he ndertook to learn the full 100 words. (Form I are asked to larn 1-25!) and came out with a score of69, which would have been in the 80s had he stuck more strictly to the stingent eules on the use of capital and small initial letters.
David Cowgill, Fanfare Mount House School, Autumn 1988
So serious is the situation that, in February, more than 4,000 eminent broadcasters, actors and writers from the Queen's English Society handed over a petition to Mr. Baker, calling on the govern,ent to bring back into our schools lessons on formal grammar and parsing. Mr. Frank Muir, the well-known broadcaster, declared: "Teaching children English without teaching grammar was like giving someone a soup spoonto charge a 13 amp plug." Mr Auberon Waugh, editor of the Literary Review, claimed that "some of the most detinguished contributors to the magazine wrote stuff that made no sence at alland needed rewriting; some of our brightest minds are just not able to express themselves in English in a way that is comprehensible." Mr. Godfrey Talbot, former B.B.C. Court correspondent and President of 'The Queen's English Society' said: "Grammar has been thrown out of the window of so many state schools that we are already in danger of producing a nation of handicapped children."
The Aquileon, Belmont School, Feldemore, 1986-87
