Question

Describe the question-answer session that took place at the end of the extract.

Answer 1

An important feature of the half-yearly report was the panel discussion scheduled for the end of the programme. Miss Phillips, Mrs. Dale-Evans, and Mr. Weston were chosen at random to form the panel and were asked questions about the reports by the students of the school. The questions were mostly from the senior students and the teachers had not been made aware of the questions beforehand. As such, they were caught off guard by the questioning and were struggling to answer them. Of the three, Miss Phillips was the most informed and answered the questions with honesty and authority. She also managed to skilfully tackle some of the questions posed to the other teachers in order to help them and save them from embarrassment. In comparison, not only did Mr. Weston put no effort in looking presentable, but also tried to escape Fernman’s and Denham’s blunt questioning by talking loudly and pretending to be offended, so as to avoid offering any valid explanations. He could not justify the need for the P.T. class when Denham argued that the class offered no physical benefits. Once again, it was Miss Phillips who stepped in and successfully defended the need for P.T. class, thereby outwitting Denham, who then admitted defeat and gave up on the matter. This concluded the question-answer session of the programme.