In a recent book review in the Mathematical Gazette it was stated that the idea of a unified syllabus in mathematics had proved less helpful than had been hoped, and it was implied that many teachers were abandoning the idea of a unified syllabus, or were compromising with a system of partial unification. This was only one of a number of articles and reviews in various periodicals, all noticeably tepid in their enthusiasm for the new ways, which must cause some dismay to all those who have hoped for much good from this newest phase in the development of mathematical teaching. It is, of course, hardly surprising that so momentous a step should have given rise to a certain amount of controversy: the dethronement of Euclid was the cause of a great deal of fierce argument as well as of the birth of the Mathematical Association, so that the establishment of a unified syllabus, another and greater step along the same road, must be expected to receive an equally mixed reception. Nevertheless, if the unified syllabus has indeed been found unsatisfactory by some teachers, it would be well to try to find out what is wrong.