There are at least two sides to all public images. When he opened the Inverness Technical College extension last Friday Mr Edward Taylor (Scottish Office under-secretary for education) was the man we are beginning to become accustomed to - bouncy, engaging, well-groomed, romping through his speech with well-placed and well-prepared light touches to vary the tone if not the pace. The man, his sentiments and his favourite jokes all went down well with both platform party and audience, even tough he is clearly not a Highland-style Tory.

Within 24 hours we were in Livingston, listening to the reports at the annual CASE (Campaign for State Education) meeting of attempts at both national and local level to meet Mr Taylor face to face.

CASE members in Scotland had found is predecessor, Mr Bruce Millan, quite approachable, but three times they have asked Mr Taylor to meet them and three times, they say, he has refused. Could it be, they ask, because they are anti-fee-paying?

nThis morning graduation ceremony at Stirling University will produce the university’s first batch of honours graduates and will virtually bring the university’s first generation to an end.

* Mr J G Morris HMI told the conference of Fife headmasters that many interesting things were happening as regards technology in individual schools, but few education authorities were taking up technology with much enthusiasm.

Developments in the computer field might soon supply the headmasters with answers for timetabling, but the computer could not deal with such human problems as the teacher who would not work in the class next to a certain other teacher or the teacher who objected to work in a classroom notorious for noise.