Many of these centres have been in existence for nearly twenty years , whilst others have been added quite recently .sx Wherever possible , the organisers have encouraged students to work towards the formation of tutorial classes and to regard all other kinds as subsidiary or preparatory to these .sx This policy has given a solidarity to the movement in this area .sx The organisation for various kinds of classes is mainly carried on by the same persons ; the students of the One Year Classes pass into the Tutorial classes , and in many instances follow up one tutorial class by another .sx 12 .sx As regards the Tutorial classes themselves as distinct from the classes for which the Workers' Educational Association is alone responsible , the long record of success has been due to a number of causes .sx Co-operation between the Workers' Educational Association and the Universities of Manchester and Liverpool was firmly established when the North Western District of the Workers' Educational Association covered the whole area , but the relations with Manchester University were closer , partly because the W.E.A. District office was in Manchester and not in Liverpool , and partly because the constitution of the Liverpool Joint Committee as subordinate to the Extension Board made co-operation less simple and less effective .sx Changes in the Secretaryship of the Liverpool Extension Board have occurred from time to time , whilst at Manchester the Joint Committee has had the advantage of the services of the External Registrar throughout the whole period .sx Both Universities have taken a keen interest in the success of this branch of extra-mural teaching .sx University Committees are generally composed of busy people preoccupied with the problems of intra-mural work ; both at Manchester and Liverpool , however , tutorial classes have received every encouragement ; co-operation has never been perfunctory ; many members of both committees have had actual experience in teaching outside the University , whilst others have had long experience of its .sx administration .sx At Liverpool the premises of the University have been made available every evening for Tutorial and other classes whilst several University professors and lecturers take part in the teaching .sx At Manchester similar facilities are offered ; many of the tutors are on the staff of the University and from time to time the whole body of students are brought together in the University .sx The classes are visited regularly and the students are made to feel that their relation to the University is a real thing .sx Several have been enabled to reside for considerable periods and some have graduated .sx The prestige and influence of the two Universities have extended to the whole local movement with beneficial results .sx It is seldom that a scheme which depends for its effectiveness far more upon the personal qualities of individuals than upon written constitutions has proved so successful and harmonious in actual practice .sx The District Secretaries of the Workers' Educational Association have been conspicuous for their practical ability both in dealing with the affairs of their own organisation and in co-operating with the Universities .sx They have shown a breadth of view and a high sense of responsibility to the public as well as to their own association .sx One circumstance which has contributed in no small measure to the exceptional quality of the work in this area should not be overlooked .sx During the whole .sx period the External Registrar of Manchester University has devoted his leisure to voluntary service in the cause of .sx adult education .sx His wide and long experience of both .sx the popular and academic sides of the movement has con- .sx tributed notably to the excellence and intimacy of the .sx relations between the University and the voluntary bodies .sx UNIVERSITY TUTORIAL CLASSES .sx 13 .sx Twenty years ago Tutorial classes were an experiment and there is a sense in which each new class is still an experiment , ,but the experience gained has proved beyond doubt that where certain conditions are realised the Tutorial class offers a means of education peculiarly adapted to the needs of working-class students .sx From the students' point of view it has many advantages over the earlier methods of adult education .sx It preserves the collective identity of the group whilst giving ample play to the individual and it places a highly qualified teacher , usually a specialist in the subject chosen , at the service of the group for a long period .sx From the teacher's point of view also it represented an advance upon what had previously been attempted .sx There is more satisfaction in dealing with students following a progressive course for several years , steadily increasing their knowledge and developing their powers , than in perpetually breaking new ground with new audiences .sx It is one thing , however , to devise a scheme of education , to set up a working model and to prove its excellence by one or two successful instances ; it is quite another thing to create a steady and increasing demand for education of this type on the part of men and women who realise their obligations as well as their privileges , to maintain a high standard both of effort and achievement , and to build up a system in place of a few isolated experiments .sx It is to the credit of those responsible for the conduct of tutorial classes in this area that they have so consistently kept in mind their real objects .sx There has been no desire to seek an increase in numbers at the expense of the quality of the work , and whatever defects may have been discovered in the execution of the schemes of study , the intention of systematic training has been preserved .sx The statistics given below of the steady growth in numbers in both parts .sx of the area , with the corresponding numbers for England and Wales , show that the classes have become a permanent feature in adult education .sx It is therefore all the more gratifying to know that there is no perceptible falling-off in the qualities to which importance has always been attached .sx The standard of teaching is remarkably high .sx On the part of the students , while there is perhaps less of the enthusiasm exhibited when attendance at such classes was an' adventure , and perhaps fewer instances of arduous toil or conspicuous sacrifice , there is a widespread appreciation of the purposes of study and a ready acceptance of its discipline .sx Tutors .sx 14 .sx Without good tutors the whole movement would collapse , and fears have been expressed lest too rapid growth should unduly strain the resources of teaching power .sx The evidence drawn from this large area , therefore , is of considerable importance .sx Speaking generally , it may be said that the rate of increase in the classes has been determined almost solely by the strength of the demand on the part of students .sx Their demands have been scrutinised and tested as far as possible .sx It would not be true to say that no difficulty has been experienced at any time in securing a sufficient number of good tutors , but on the whole the supply has kept pace , and there is no perceptible deterioration in the quality .sx Tutors vary in ability and in gifts for this special kind of teaching .sx In the earliest days of the tutorial class movement the demands upon the tutor were in some ways heavier ; an encyclopaedic knowledge and exceptional dialectical gifts were almost a necessity in dealing with keen but raw students .sx These qualities are still needed , for almost every class contains new students , but the effect of twenty years' work has been to smooth away some of the difficulties .sx The academic point of view is more readily grasped , and there is less difference in outlook between extra-mural and intra-mural classes than there was in the earlier days .sx 15 .sx In general qualifications , ability and experience , the tutors employed in this area compare favourably with those of any other , and with those employed at any previous time .sx In some districts geographical and other circumstances make it necessary to employ full-time tutors .sx In this area , as almost all the classes can be reached from either Manchester or Liverpool without the necessity of a night's absence from home , the policy of combining intra-mural with extra-mural teaching has been more feasible than in most other areas .sx More than half of the Manchester tutors and eight of the thirty Liverpool tutors are also engaged in teaching within the University .sx In the whole area 59 tutors take 105 classes .sx There are 7 full-time tutors , each University having only one staff tutor ; so that about 25 per cent .sx of the classes are taught by men wholly engaged in this work :sx in the Yorkshire area it was found that more than 50 per cent .sx were taught by full-time tutors .sx The Liverpool Committee employs 12 Secondary school teachers ; the Manchester Committee two only .sx The rest are drawn from various sources , but all have good qualifications and considerable experience .sx One , for example , a clergyman , has taught tutorial classes in this and other districts for 18 years ; another with a , unique knowledge of the Co-operative movement , has had over 12 years' experience of tutorial classes and other similar work .sx Four are teachers or professors of music .sx Tested by continuity of service , it appears that the tutors in this area have preserved on the average a longer contact with this type of work than those in areas employing more full-time tutors .sx Some who at one time have been full-time tutors have subsequently engaged in teaching within the University , two or three as Professors .sx On the whole , therefore , the mixed system has worked extremely well , and no suggestions are offered for any departure from it .sx A part-time system with very frequent changes of personnel would probably fail to maintain the traditions and standards so necessary for success in this branch of work , but in this district it is evident thatthe organisers and the Committees have used the various resources to the best advantage .sx The co-operation between the Workers' Educational Association and the Universities in the selection of tutors has worked smoothly .sx There must be few districts in which misfits have been so rare ; the failure of a class is almost unknown , and the credit for this must be shared by all parties .sx Students .sx 16 .sx The students themselves have actively co-operated and have contributed to the steady and solid progress achieved .sx The existence of communities of students in a large number of towns and even villages has been noticed .sx In Rochdale , Nelson , Poynton , Macclesfield , Chorley , Stockport , to take examples almost at random , bodies of students have grown up with the movement and have exercised a considerable influence upon the' direction of its activities .sx It is difficult to establish comparisons with the groups found in similar classes elsewhere , but it can safely be asserted that the impression given is not only that the students are intelligent , but that they have acquired a certain experience of intellectual life which it is one of the objects of such education to provide .sx This is particularly noticeable in some of the centres where classes have been carried on for many years .sx The groups of immature beginners are now hardly to be found .sx Even those classes composed for the most part of young people and such classes are apparently increasing very quickly acquire the right attitude ; that is to say , they are neither stolidly passive nor too eager to impress their own point of view ; they can take as well as give .sx It would be an exaggeration to state that every student pulls his weight , and that there are no passengers ; but a somewhat disquieting feature in earlier days , the presence of a proportion of students who failed to make up for their passivity in class by any conspicuous industry or application in individual study , has practically disappeared .sx In some classes there is still a .sx tendency to overestimate the importance of what can be done in the two hours a week of the actual class-meeting , as compared with systematic study ; but where this happens the tutor must share part of the blame .sx What is remark- :sx able is that a large proportion of the older students who have attended classes previously , keep up their interest and find new studies without hindering the more recent recruits .sx In many districts it has been found that " old students " are by no means an unmixed blessing , for reasons which experienced tutors will appreciate .sx