STOCK-TAKING Continuity Amongst the changes that were brought about by the Education Act of 1944 was that Greenford County was now Greenford County Grammar School. As the War ended and staffing was gradually stabilised over the following year by equalising numbers of men and women and making permanent appointments Mr Withrington produced a report designed to take stock amidst the changes and to set out the school's policies. He began with this comment: Perhaps our greatest difficulty has been the problem of continuity of policy which has faced us owing to the great number of staffing changes we have had. I include much of this Report as it serves to sum up the accomplishments of the Head himself and shows what was achieved in spite of the conditions brought on by the war. It says a lot for the calibre of the staff and the pupils. General School Procedure and Discipline The Place of the Staff: The form is the unit for general school purposes and form teachers are expected to know their forms thoroughly and to be able to give advice on matters raised by the Headmaster or by parents. Specialist teachers are expected to inform form teachers about progress, and difficulties with any pupil, and it is the form teacher's duty to take an appropriate interest and, if necessary, to take action in the matter. There is an opportunity for interchange of information each day at morning break, when the staff meets as a whole there are other opportunities as the staff meets without distinction of sex whenever possible (the term 'staff' includes Headmaster and Secretary). The Staff: The staff as a whole is treated as the central organ of government of the school, and the general policy is to encourage the staff to feel that the state of the school at any time is a common responsibility of the whole of the staff. From time to time special matters are referred to small committees of the staff who report their recommendations to the staff as a whole for acceptance, rejection or amendment. Encouragements and Punishments: General policy is directed towards establishing right personal relations between staff and pupil, and no rigid system of rewards and punishments is laid down. There are two main pieces of machinery which can be used for encouragement the merit book in which individual pieces of especially good work are recorded, and the reading of lists of those awarded 'special credits' or 'merit mentions' at the end of the term. These lists are drawn up by the staff after discussion at a staff meeting, and are determined by the whole term and examination record of the pupil. We do not publish form orders although we keep a record of them. The main pieces of machinery for dealing with defaulters are entry in the record book of bad work and conduct, and the placing of pupils on daily report. The first is used for isolated occasions, and the second is a power delegated to form teachers and is used only in cases where several teachers have difficulty with the same child and where the form teacher judges that putting on daily report will do more good than harm. Placing on daily report involves an interview between Headmaster and parents. Frequently in special cases, and more particularly after discussion at staff meetings, the Headmaster sees a parent or parents of a pupil and it is the practice to report back the substance of interviews with parents to the staff. Prefects There are 18 prefects who are on duty each day in pairs with members of the staff. The prefects hold prefects' meetings and make recommendations through the Headmaster to the staff on matters of discipline, on the appointment of new prefects and on the appointment of Head Boy and Head Girl. They also hold meetings at irregular intervals with the sixth form and with representatives from the upper forms at which matters of general school order and procedure are dealt with. In the Dining Hall we have a system of Heads of Tables as responsible officers. The Heads of Tables are not prefects. Houses There are four Houses, each with boys' and girls' sections: St Andrew's, St David's, St George's and St Patrick's. The House system is used almost entirely for Games: but there is no ban on its use for other purposes. When opportunities occur for other inter-House activities they will be welcomed. Each member of the staff is attached to a House, and there are elected House Captains who conduct most of the business in connection with House Games. Games Committee: All matters relating to Games and Athletics of both boys and girls are reported to and discussed at a general Games Committee which meets at least once a term and consists of members of the staff, House representatives, Games Captains, and form representatives. The Library A prefect is in charge. The rule of the Library is absolute silence. If this rule is broken, the prefect sends the offender to the member of staff in charge who gives appropriate punishment, which includes exclusion from the library for a period. The offender is always made to understand clearly the reason for the silence rule. Pupils do make suggestions for books they would like to see in the Library and there was a Suggestions Book, but this has recently heen withdrawn owing to the impossibility of buying most of the books suggested and to the necessity for building up the reference section. We have added little to our fiction section in recent years: the quality of the paper and the poor binding of books now make them too fragile for hard use and consequently too expensive for us. We rely very largely upon our original selection and upon the Middlesex County Library loan. Pupils frequently give books to the Library not only when leaving. Sometimes, forms make gifts of books. With the fines (of 1d a day) and with occasional contributions from the school, magazines and journals are bought for the Library. These are not as many as we could wish, owing to present restrictions. When the Library was first opened, every borrower kept his book in a paper cover. Shortage of paper forced us to discontinue this practice. Present approximate number of books Non-fiction, 1100 : Fiction, 500. Visual Aids: Our only Visual Aid is a Leitz film-strip projector. page 38