Leaders of the future

“I have always been curious to come to Woodhouse School,” said Mrs. Margaret Thatcher, M.P., who presented the prizes. “I get more correspondence from people who want to come to Woodhouse School than from people who want to go anywhere else, so I have been wondering what Woodhouse has got that other schools have not.”

After hearing of their achievements, she added, she felt that parents should go back to school, and the pupils should run the world and earn a living for the rest of them. Parents could learn from their children.

She congratulated the senior students, who had put up a very high standard for the juniors to follow.

“Grammar schools must provide the leaders of the future,” she declared. “It is nonsense to think that all leaders come from universities.”

At the same time, she was delighted to see so many going to university and being so enthusiastic about it. This was not merely for the academic advantages, but for the fact that they met people from all walks of life.

“You get a breadth of education at university which far transcends mere academic learning,” declared the speaker.

Mrs. Thatcher sympathised with the rising generation because, with the historical and scientific developments, they had so much more with which to cope.

For the sake of the community in which they lived, for the sake of their parents and for their own sake it was their duty to cultivate excellence to the best of their ability.

Mrs. Thatcher also stressed the importance of people being able to express themselves clearly and concisely.