‘Examiners must be prepared not to domineer but to learn that the art is yet in its infancy, and their knowledge of what girls can or ought to do is at present very slight. They must be ready to admit the possibility of a teacher knowing better than his judges. The latter are sometimes tempted to exclaim, _Quis custodiat ipsos custodes?_ If the school curriculum and the examinations are so far out of harmony that a large amount of special preparation is required, either the curriculum is at fault or the examination an evil.... I know that some make a great point of having the actual University examinations opened, because a mere “women’s examination” is spoken of contemptuously. I believe that in trying to avoid this, we should encounter greater evils, and that the wish is connected with a misplaced reverence which many women entertain for the learning of a “pass man.”’ After some years of consideration a decision was practically forced upon Miss Beale. She must choose for her clever girls either to pass a public examination which she thought more suited for men, or to fall behind in a path which was surely leading in the right direction. She did not hesitate, but saw that on this, as on many occasions, it must be her part to labour to remove obstructions, to overcome obstacles. In her interview with the Commissioners, on being asked if she would approve of the establishment of a special examination for ladies up to the standard of attainment of the London matriculation, she had replied, ‘Certainly,’ but advocated that it should be made possible for women to take German instead of Greek. This examination, she agreed, might be taken as a measure, though the measure might not be filled with the same subjects as for men. She was soon called upon to act in this matter, for in 1869 it was opened to women, and the University of Cambridge also instituted an examination for women over eighteen years of age. Miss Beale accepted both for the College, but for some years there was no regular organisation of work for those who were taking the Cambridge examination. This was partly due to the higher limit of age. It was then thought extraordinary that girls should stay at school after they were eighteen. It was difficult to persuade many to do so. Some were ‘wanted at home,’ some wished to ‘come out’; those who were intending to be teachers thought they should be already earning. Then the absorbing work for the London examination made it difficult to arrange for much of a wholly different character. Consequently, at first, the older pupils and the young teachers who sought to pass the Cambridge examination had to look after themselves a good deal. Miss Beale would certainly not consider this a drawback. They had the additional advantage of lectures from herself on literature and history.