The Need for a Report on the Alternative Road

ALMOST INEVITABLY the focal point of discussion on the Crowther Report has been the recommendation that the school‐leaving age should be raised. Parliamentarians, in particular, prefer to discuss ends rather than means and to leave consideration of the latter to the experts. It is unfortunate that so much professional attention has been devoted to the same end, for this report contains a great deal of stimulating, provocative, and enlightened comment on matters of social education and the reform of sixth form curricula. Moreover, hidden at the end of Chapter 35 is a valuable suggestion that a further enquiry should be made into the development of an ‘Alternative Road’, that is, a more practical approach to education.