Legislation should be passed fixing the age of 15 years as that up to which attendance at school will become obligatory after the lapse of five years from the date of the report, that is to say, at the beginning of the school year 1932.

(k) It is the earnest hope of the Committee that voluntary societies and managers of non-provided schools will aid to the best of their power the development of post-primary schools of the "modern" type.

The Committee have much increased the value and utility of the report by appending to it a series of constructive suggestions on the teaching of the several subjects of the curriculum of a modern school.

17. The fundamental recommendation of the Committee upon which their other recommendations depend is that all children should make a fresh start at the age of 11+, if possible in a new department. For some time past there has been a steadily increasing body of opinion in favour of a break at this stage. As was explained in our report for 1925 the Board stated in Circular 1350 that they would find it difficult to approve any scheme of school planning which failed to make provision for the advanced instruction of children over 11 by giving opportunities for suitable classification and organisation. They emphasised that the age of 11 was increasingly recognised as the most suitable dividing line between what they would call junior and senior education and that its adoption for the purpose of school organisation tended to a clearer definition of the aims and methods of the curriculum and facilitated the training of the children on the lines appropriate to their ages. Where the provision of a separate department for children over 11 is not practicable the Board would look for a definite and distinct time-table and course of instruction for children over 11 years of age. Since the issue of the report active steps have been taken to encourage its close consideration by authorities, managers and teachers. In his statement to the House of Commons on 24th March, the President stated that the large increases in teaching establishments and in building provided for in the programmes could not properly be justified, unless in connection with them substantial progress was made with improvements in the character and methods. of adolescent education on the lines recommended by the Committee.

18. While this principle of a break at 11 is now very generally accepted in so far as it affects the age at which abler pupils are transferred to secondary schools and to selective central schools, it has not been so generally recognised that the provision of an adequate supply of such schools does not in itself solve the problem, but, on the contrary, leaves the majority of the older pupils still unprovided for. The ordinary and the so-called "stupid" pupil need a fresh start just as much as the abler pupil and the adequate

provision for their needs probably represents not only the largest but the most difficult aspect of the problems to be solved before the principle laid down by the Consultative Committee can be put into general effect.

19. In view of the large extent to which elementary school accommodation is provided by voluntary schools, and, in particular, by schools connected with the Church of England, it is evident that the solution of the problems involved will be greatly influenced by the readiness and ability of school managers to co-operate, and the Consultative Committee expressed the earnest hope that the voluntary societies and managers of non-provided schools would aid to the best of their power the development of post-primary schools. It is satisfactory to find that there is increasing evidence of such readiness to co-operate, and the National Society in their last Annual Report emphasised that "The Diocesan Authorities and the Managers should take a wide view of probable developments in the national system of education in the course of the next few years. There is apparently no secure future for all-standard schools, i.e., schools which are designed to take scholars of all ages from 7 to 14 or 15; and particularly is this the case for 'allstandard' schools of comparatively small numbers. The grading of schools as 'junior' and 'senior' is inevitable and Diocesan Authorities and School Managers should keep this consideration constantly in mind."

20. It is evident that the general adoption of this principle throughout the elementary school system involves fundamental changes in the organisation of existing schools which can only gradually be brought about. The very large amount of school building now being undertaken by local authorities and by voluntary managers in all parts of the country is affording constant opportunities for development on right lines, and in dealing with proposals submitted to them the Board are at pains to secure that regard is had not merely to the numbers and ages of the pupils for whom accommodation is immediately required, but to the type of accommodation most needed to secure effective and economical organisation in the district. Thus, while the immediate need may be for additional accommodation for infants, inquiry may show that the preferable course is to re-organise the existing schools so as to enable them to accommodate all younger children, leaving the new school to provide for older scholars.

21. As explained in previous reports, it is not possible to make any exact statistical estimate of the extent to which pupils are receiving "advanced" instruction owing to the wide variation in the significance attached to the term and owing to the wide variety of institutions in which such instruction is provided. An endeavour has, however, been made in Table 11 of the Statistics to give the numbers of senior departments, that is to say, departments admission

to which is substantially limited to children over 11; some particulars of the numbers and ages of the pupils in these departments are also given in the Table. Comparable figures were included in the Statistical Volume for 1925-26. A certain number of departments are included which have not as yet been organised as to conditions of entry or of curriculum on the lines contemplated by the Consultative Committee. On the other hand, there are not included schools, such as many central schools in rural areas, which, in addition to providing organised courses of instruction for pupils over 11, also provide for children below that age; nor, again, are there included the numerous schools in which within the limits of the old school organisation the local authority and the teachers are making substantial efforts to provide improved instruction for older scholars. There is, however, real significance in the fact that during the year 1926-27 the number of such departments has increased from 598 to 652 and the number of pupils attending them from 155,469 to 168,536. Evidence of the increasing movement towards improved organisation and classification is also afforded by the fact that in 1926-27 the number of departments of all kinds affected by re-organisations was 550, as against 250 in the previous year. In 125 cases (39 urban and 86 county) the school was "decapitated " and arrangements made for the transfer of the older pupils to other schools.

2. Practical Instruction.

22. The report of the Consultative Committee emphasised the importance of practical instruction being regarded as an essential part of the school curriculum. For this purpose it is of the first importance that the requisite accommodation should be provided on the school premises rather than in a separate centre. It is accordingly satisfactory to find that during the year ending 31st March, 1927, the number of schools in which some provision was made for practical instruction on the school premises increased from 5,503 to 5,810. It is now the normal practice for provision for practical instruction to be included in all new schemes for the accommodation of older scholars, and further developments on the desired lines will, therefore, occur as these schemes come into actual operation. This increase in the number of schools providing their own facilities for practical instruction represents a real increase in the total facilities available, since during the period under review there was no decrease in the number of separate centres. On the contrary, the number of separate centres for domestic subjects increased from 3,070 to 3,138 and the number of schools sending pupils to these centres increased from 10,041 to 10,276. In the case of handicraft there was a similar slight increase, the number of centres increasing from 1,789 to 1,845 and the number of contributory schools from 6,795 to 6,995.

3. Retention of Pupils beyond the Age of 14.

23. The power conferred by the Education Act upon authorities to make by-laws raising the age for compulsory school attendance to 15 had, up to the period under review, been exercised only by East Suffolk in England, and Caernarvonshire in Wales. In 1927, however, the Board approved the adoption of by-laws raising the age to 15 in the case of two further English authorities, namely, Plymouth and Cornwall.

24. The Board have recently issued (List 45) a statement showing for the area of each local authority particulars of the numbers of pupils of different ages in public elementary schools maintained by local authorities on the 31st March, 1927, and also certain particulars of the pupils who left such schools during the year ended on that date. It is hoped that these figures may be of interest as throwing light on the various problems concerned with the provision of separate accommodation for pupils of 11 and over and may assist authorities in estimating the number of such pupils for whom accommodation is likely to be required in their areas in the course of the next few years. The figures, which are summarised in Table 6 of the Statistics, show the effect on the distribution of children between the various age-groups of the low birth-rate during the war and the high birth-rate in the years immediately after the war. Thus, the number of pupils of 11-12 on the 31st March, 1927, was 574,070; on the other hand, the number of children in the 9-10 age-group, who should be transferred to post-primary schools in two years' time, was only 481,822. The numbers then begin to rise rapidly and the numbers in the 6-7 age-group, who will reach the age of transfer in five years' time, were no less than 717,417. As a result, it has been calculated that in the year 1933 the number of children of 11 and over in the elementary schools is likely to exceed the present numbers by at least 135,000.

25. The figures in List 45 also throw light on another problem of practical interest at the present time, namely, the extent to which children are at present remaining voluntarily at the elementary school after reaching the age of exemption from school attendance. As will be seen from the summary given in Table 11 of the Statistics, on the 31st March, 1927, the number of pupils in the schools who were aged 14 years 3 months or over, and who may therefore be assumed to be exempt from compulsory school attendance, was 51,713, of whom 13,357 were over 15. This latter figure compares with 12,134 on the 31st March, 1926, and 11,407 on the 31st March, 1925.

26. The total number of pupils who left for reasons other than further education during the twelve months ended 31st March, 1927, and who had remained at school for a period after reaching the age of exemption from compulsory school attendance was 64,569, of

whom 16,202 were over 15 at the time of leaving. This latter figure compares with 16,063 for the year ended 31st March, 1926, and 14,859 for the year ended 31st March, 1925. It is evident, therefore, that, while there has been some slight increase, the number of children staying on voluntarily and, particularly, staying on to 15, is at present quite small. As is perhaps only to be anticipated, children very seldom remain until 15 except in schools where organised courses for children over 11 have been established. This is evidenced by the fact that, while at present only a very small proportion of pupils over 11 are in senior departments, these departments contain something like two-thirds of the number of children staying till 15, and it would appear that the growth of voluntary attendance must be mainly dependent on the rate of establishment and development of fresh senior departments. The figures also reveal the existence of a number of areas where voluntary attendance is still practically non-existent. For the year ended 31st March, 1927, there were in England and Wales 35 areas in which the number of pupils leaving after a period of voluntary attendance was less than 10 and, indeed, there were 6 areas in which not a single pupil left after a period of voluntary attendance.* The number of areas in which no appreciable number of pupils remain till 15 was very much larger. Nearly one-third of the areas retained less than 10 pupils up to that age and 45 retained none at all.

4. Maintenance Allowances.

27. The Board are prepared to recognise for grant reasonable expenditure by authorities on the provision of maintenance allowances for pupils in public elementary schools, provided that the pupil is over 14 and in need of assistance; that the school provides suitable advanced instruction for pupils over the age of 14; and that his parents undertake to keep him to the end of any school year upon which he has entered during the school course. During the three years 1924-27 only about 30 authorities annually have given maintenance allowances, and in fully half these cases the expenditure has been less than £100 a year. Practically the whole of the expenditure has been incurred by five authorities, namely, London, Manchester, West Ham, Tottenham, and Walthamstow. The total expenditure was £22,714 in 1924-25, £32,364 in 1925-26, and £36,355 in 1926-27. The increase has been mainly due to increased expenditure in London who expended £22,246 in the last of these years, as compared with £11,000 in the first. The number of awards current on the 31st March, 1925, was about 2,000, and on the 31st March, 1926, about 2,800; figures for the 31st March, 1927, are not available.

* See Table 8, p. 123.