For seventy years of my life I have been a supporter of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music examinations: first as a pupil, going through Grades 1–8, and then the L.R.A.M., and then as a teacher, guiding my pupils through the grades and stopping at the diploma. So I have had many, many opportunities of evaluating the work of the examinations, and to a lesser extent those of Trinity College of Music, theirs appearing less frequently. What strikes me – after probing in my memories – is how little they have changed! Surely some new thoughts should peep through the pages!