Calendar: 1961-1962 Page 398

ANNUAL REPORT XVII in Biophysics and it is hoped that full provision for the new department will be forthcoming from the University Grants Committee in the next quinquennium ABOLITION OF TEACHING AT KING'S COLLEGE FOR THE FIRST So long as the University of London required passes at Advanced evel in Botany and Zoology at the examinations of some other Examining Boards as ground for exemption from Biology at its own First Medical Examination the College felt bound to continue to pro- vide courses in all subjects for this examination These courses were naturally taken advantage of also by medical students who had failed at school to obtain exemption from Chemistry or Physics as well as by others who had followed only Arts courses at school As many as sixty such students had until recently to be admitted each year to read one two or even three of these subjects for the First This laid very heavy burden upon the departments in the Faculty of Natural Science and made unwarranted demands both upon laboratory space and upon man-power The Faculty of Natural Science has repeatedly asked to be relieved of this teaching burden but the Faculty of Medicine and the associated medical schools have been unable to agree to this request Recently however the University of London has relaxed its regulations concerning Biology at the General Certificate Examination and the number of students now requiring instruction for the First has become mere trickle consisting moreover almost exclusively of students who have failed at school and are therefore of doubtful academic quality The College has in the circumstances decided not to continue teaching for the First after the session 1960-61 THE LIBRARY Accessions during the year by purchase gift or bequest totalled 6294 volumes and pamphlets Subscriptions were taken out for one hundred new periodicals and series forty-eight of them in the fields of science and engineering eight being English translations of important Russian journals In addition the College is resuming its subscription to four journals discontinued as an economy measure two years ago and taking out new subscriptions to thirteen periodicals in anticipation of the eventual move from the Strand of the Biophysics library financed by the Medical Research Council Twelve subscriptions have been cancelled following careful scrutiny of the periodicals duplicated in the Library Standing orders were placed for thirteen major works in progress and substantial back runs of number of important journals were acquired Of the 1337 volumes and pamphlets gratefully received by gift and bequest full list of donors is given in Appendix IV the outstanding