Welsh Journals

For Professor David Williams, it embodied "a revolutionary prop- osal".9 More recently, Dr. K. O. Morgan and Dr. L. W. Evans have also seen the Report as a constructive document of major importance.10 There is much justification for this appraisal. It concluded that the existing provisions for intermediate education were far from adequate in amount and not wholly suitable in character.'11 It recommended the reform of existing grammar schools and in particular, attention was drawn to the need to ensure that their whole ethos and management were unsectarian.12 In addition, it recognised the need for the establishment of new, undenominational and popularly managed intermediate schools which would be financed from the rates and Treasury grants. The provision of scholarships and exhibitions was intended to open the door of educational opportunity as was the advocacy of a new deal for middle class girls. The Committee also recognised the widespread support for the establishment of "provincial colleges" of higher education in Wales, and the opening of a college in Glamorgan to cater for the particular needs of South Wales espec- ially in commerce and the professions, was recommended. They favoured the designation of the Aberystwyth College as the college for North Wales and its retention on its existing site or removal to Caer- narfon or Bangor. An annual parliamentary grant of £ 4,000 each was regarded as essential for the maintenance of the colleges. The apex of the educational edifice was to be a University of Wales. It was also stipulated that the new system of education should be directly related to the particular circumstances, and distinctive characteristics of the country.'13 A real' sense of Welsh nationality, a 'prevalent' Welsh language, a deep-seated' religious conviction, and a strong desire' for improved education in a country bereft of large endowments, were deemed to be the essential parameters of concern for the edu- cational architects of Victorian Wales.14 The significance of such a Report is undeniable. It was to exert a profound influence on the educational history of modern Wales. Its key recommendations were eventually embodied in the Welsh Inter- mediate Education Act 1889. Though a notable document for its time, it was nevertheless, less radical and enlightened than is sometimes realised. Its linguistic philosophy, hierarchical system of schooling and administrative provisions highlight a degree of conservatism, and debt to previous educational investigations in England and Wales and educational developments in Scotland and Ireland.15 The Commit- tee's itinerary through Cardiganshire revealed many of these tradit- ional Victorian perceptions of education.