John Adams, as I said I was trying not to be specific about the course at Newcastle but in these types of course in general. From what you've said (and I've heard from others) the current course at Newcastle seems to be in very good hands. My fears, as I termed them, were about how things might develop in the future rather than at the moment.

Your comment in the first sentences though comparing it to an Art School: there have been many reports over the years about the quality of teaching and what is (or is not) taught in art school that does appear to me to be trying to impose the 'Right Way'. (Admittedly I have no first or secondhand experience of Art Schools.) Thankfully, many students (as you say) do learn to think for themselves but I can't help thinking that in stasifying the school's 'Right Way' in order to pass their exams and graduate, must rub off on them to a greater or lesser extent.

My other 'fear' though was that in bringing undergraduates from all over the country the course may smooth out the differences in traditions. Is this being seen as a 'problem' and if so how is it being addressed? Or are they actively trying to teach (or at least be familiar with) the traditions from where the undergraduates come from?