In their report on this year’s English Olympiad examination, the examiners quote responses received from teachers all over the country.

 

Here is a selection:

 

... the most outdated and dull collection of extracts yet…
…the material was relevant and interesting, up to date and humorous…

Even some of the children found the sexual references tasteless…
I hope the Olympiad is not going to become more and more conservative and conventional.

…the kids responded well to the local content…
…too Eurocentric…
…major flaw confining the passages to South Africa…
…why no Dickens?
…children long for something American…

 

It is surprising then, that a little rag dedicated to the expression of opinions should come under fire. The first and only issue of the year attracted strong criticism from some members of the governing body. Objections were raised to the perceived negativity of the content, and to what was construed as an unfair attack on the Rowing Club. The opinion was expressed that the publication was spreading negative perceptions of the school.

 

The solutions proposed have proved unworkable, and in any event could not be guaranteed to resolve the recurring problem of conflicting perceptions. After all, half of Christendom is founded on the vehement belief that the Christian scriptures support the doctrine of transubstantiation, while the other half is founded on the equally vehement belief that the same passages in the same scriptures do not support the doctrine of transubstantiation. To expect 49D to get right what the authors and multitudes of editors of the Bible failed to achieve is to expect the impossible, though I appreciate the unintended compliment being paid to me of expecting me to succeed where God Himself appears to have failed.

 

The time and energy involved in producing a paper under the required conditions, with no guarantee that these will succeed in resolving the problems about which the complaints were originally received, seem hardly worthwhile.

 

As a result 49D ceased publication. If anyone out there is willing to take it on and make a go of it, he or she will have my support and very best wishes. 

 

The Olympiad Examiners end their report by ruefully quoting Bill Cosby as saying: “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.”

 

Too true.