Catalogue description University Examining Bodies Files

Alphabetically by titles of the university examining bodies.

When the State Scholarship Scheme was instituted in 1920, the various university examining bodies were invited by the Board of Education to assist in the administration of the Scheme by nominating candidates and reserve candidates who were considered capable of successfully following a course of study for a university degree with honours.

The essential qualifications for a potential state scholar were attendance at a grant-aided secondary school and success in a second examination approved under the board's regulations for secondary schools but the examining bodies utilized school records and in some cases personal interviews, to ensure that the most suitable students were nominated for the relatively few state scholarships available.

The number of state scholarships available under the scheme was initially 200 and of these, 178 were divided amongst the seven English examining bodies, the number allocated to each being based on the average number of entries for the approved second examination from grant-aided secondary schools during the preceding two years. The remaining 22 Scholarships were originally reserved for candidates who had passed a special examination of the University of Wales but in 1927, this examination was replaced by the Higher Certificate Examination of the Central Welsh Board and thereafter, state scholarships were allocated on the same basis in England and Wales.

An important feature of the first decade of the State Scholarship Scheme was the requirement that examining bodies should, as far as possible, nominate an equal number of girls and boys. To achieve this balance it was often necessary to select candidates of only the minimum qualifying standard in preference to those of higher quality. In 1930, however, the method of allocation between the sexes was amended and the new regulations provided that the board, in allocating the increased number of 300 state scholarships to the examining bodies, would also direct how many awards were available each year for girls and boys respectively. The allocation was based on the numbers of each sex who in previous years had entered for each of the second examinations from recognised secondary schools.

Changes in the State Scholarship Scheme were of a minor nature until 1936, when the number of awards was increased to 360, and the maximum maintainance allowance was raised. In addition the scholarships became available to fulltime pupils in all secondary schools in England and Wales, instead of being confined to pupils in grant-aided schools. Subsequently the regulations were modified in December, 1939, to enable assistance to be given to students pursuing shortened courses of study not leading to an honours degree, and for courses in agriculture which had formerly been barred by the regulations.