THE 2015 Farnham Lecture, presented by the Farnhamian 400 Trust, was attended by an audience which included headmasters, headmistresses and former members of the teaching profession.

They had come to hear Sir Andrew Carter, headteacher of the highly successful South Farnham Junior School, talk on the subject ‘Education in the United Kingdom – A Personal View’.

Sir Andrew began by giving some interesting statistics regarding education in the Farnham area and it was a surprise to many that the cost amounted to over £40 million per annum.

He outlined the structure of education in this country and likened it some of the largest businesses in the country based on financial involvement.

He said he was addressing most people in the room who, like him, had been traditionally educated and explained in detail the many changes during the past 50 years.

South Farnham had been a grammar school, a primary school, a junior school, and now an academy. From a very strict system modern schools now had more choice and many are becoming academies. These are managed by trusts and generate their own money through sponsorship and partnership.

Sir Andrew and the South Farnham Trust have expanded by adding other schools to their group.

Some have been failing schools looking for better leadership and others are schools looking to join a successful group. His school currently oversee two local schools and a growing list of schools across the country.

He explained the introduction of “free schools”, the current situation regarding grammar schools, and the non-participation of “church schools”.

Sir Andrew said he was very proud that South Farnham had been appointed as a National Teaching School and over the years many aspiring teachers had been trained at the school, including almost 40 headteachers and more than 30 deputy headteachers.

This was a wide-ranging lecture, given by a truly modern educationalist and clear for the audience to see why he has a CBE and has been recently knighted.

Cyril Trust, chairman of the Farnhamian 400 Trust, closed the lecture after a lengthy question time and suggested that it will be difficult to find a speaker for the 2016 Farnham Lecture who can offer such a compelling talk.