Wise Words

Sir: I wonder how many readers recall this meaningful quote, taken from The Editor’s Letter of an old issue of This England many years ago, but still very apt:

“As O-levels, CSES and A-levels etc. are once again upon our young people, the following is worth thinking about.

“There are no O-levels to be gained for honesty and kindness, no diplomas for sincerity and unselfishness. These have to be earned in the first few years of life, from parents and family, and then be left to mature like old wine in the casks of daily experience.

“Today’s go-getting parents, ever eager to see their offsprings secure top academic prizes must never neglect to teach them, by example, the old-fashioned virtues that have stood the test of time. It may mean their children will not fill the front rank in the nation’s scholarship, but they will people tomorrow’s England with men and women of compassion and common sense — attributes that are not only needed for Christian fulfilment in this life, but essential for all who hope to pass the entrance exam into the next.” — ANN WATKINSON,