In To the Ends of the Earth, Professor T M Devine records that in the late 18th/early 19th centuries pupils, having spent five to six years in the Scottish burgh grammar schools after leaving the parish system at the age of eight or nine, were expected to be able to converse and write fluently in Latin.
Admittedly, many of their counterparts wouldn't have access to such schooling but it suggests that, if the resources are there and sufficient application made, standards can be improved and maintained.
John F Crawford,
4 The Breakers, Lytham St Annes.
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