“The personal timetables of both teachers and pupils in secondary schools are fragmented to a degree that has most serious consequences for the morale of both and for the standard of education in general.

“Teachers spend their week taking a large number of classes, pupils see many teachers during their week, and both see each other for a few periods only. The consequent pupil load and teacher load impose a great strain on staff and pupils alike . . .

“It is a commonplace that unless a teacher knows his pupils well his teaching is not as effective as it might be . . .

“The pupils also suffer . . . The S3-4 non SCE (Scottish Certificate of Education) pupils demonstrate their feelings towards school most clearly by their truancy and unruly behaviour . . .

“In the large school there is no common pool of knowledge about each other from which pupils and teachers may draw and to which they can contribute.

“It was partly to meet this that guidance systems were introduced.”