From the report of the board of education (central authority) for 1903-4 it appears that rapid progress has been made since 1902 in giving effect to the new law. On August 1, 1904, it had come into operation in every area of locai education authority with the exception of six, and in these areas the days for its &doption had been fixed, making it sure that by the end of September the law would be operative in all. Thus, one of the main purposes of the law, namely, a reduction in the number of local authorities responsible for education has been accomplished. In the place of about 800 school-attendance committees and over 2,500 school boards there are now 328 educational authorities (municipal and county councils) for the country outside of London.

The concentration of local authority in a single body in each area has brought a large number of elementary schools, which were formerly isolated units, under one and the same direction as an integral part of the local school provision.

The education law for London, bearing date August 14, 1903, went into effect May 1, 1904, at which time the London county council became the authority for education in the metropolis, excepting as regards certain minor provisions for which the appointed day was October 1. Thus educational administration in the metropolis has been brought into unison with that of the rest of the Kingdom. With reference to the general effects of these recent acts, the official report calls particular attention to the fact that they have made it possible to deal with the various forms of educational activity as parts of a coordinate whole in each area and that they have already brought within "reasonable distance of solution" problems which could not be solved until such relations were established.

66

As to the spirit in which the local authorities have entered upon the work, the report states that they are carrying out their responsible duties, not merely with energy and good will, but with tact and consideration toward the various bodies with whom they were brought into relation."

Special difficulties arise in the local conduct of education in England from causes peculiar to the dual system of schools-i. e., public and private. The newly constituted local authorities have been brought into conflict with the governing bodies and teaching staff of the latter class of schools in a few instances; fewer, however, than was anticipated. For the most part the questions in dispute have been amicably adjusted.

The board of education has encountered some difficulty in respect to the appointment of foundation managers of private schools. The total number of applications received for action in this respect amounts already to 11,538.

The power of grouping schools under one body of managers conferred by the law of 1902 upon the local education authorities has been exercised so far as reported in respect to 514 council schools and 278 voluntary schools. It is believed that grouping has really been effected in many more cases.

The efforts to deal with endowments applicable to elementary education, a task which also devolves upon the local education authority, have disclosed the fact that many of the endowments are not necessarily restricted to elementary education, but may be used to foster higher grade schools. The law of 1902 (section 8) also provides that-

where the local education authority or any persons propose to provide a new public elementary school they shall give public notice of their intention to do so, and that appeals may (within three months after the notice is given) be made to the board against the proposal by the managers of any existing school, by the local education authority, or by any ten ratepayers in the area concerned, on the ground that the proposed school is not required or that a school of a different character would be better suited to meet the wants of the district. In deciding on any such appeal the board are directed by section 9 of the act to

have regard to the interest of secular instruction, to the wishes of parents as to the education of their children, and to the economy of the rates.

The following report of appeals and decisions in this respect is interesting as an indication of the impartial spirit in which the cases have been treated: Notices under section 8 have been received from

The following new schools and enlargements have been sanctioned:

Council schools.

Church of England Roman Catholic
schools.

schools.

Total.

Num- Accommo- Num-Accommo- Num- Accommo- Num- Accommober. dation. ber. dation. ber. dation. ber. dation.

Appeals have been received against 40 proposed voluntary schools, of which 8 have been successful, 10 unsuccessful, 2 withdrawn, and 20 are awaiting consideration.

Appeals have been received against 32 proposed council schools, of which 5 were unsuccessful, 4 withdrawn, and 23 are awaiting consideration.

In 9 cases it has been necessary to hold public inquiries for the decision of appeals under section 8. The proceedings were in most cases of considerable public interest, and although the questions raised were novel and involved a careful balancing of conflicting considerations, the board have not felt any serious doubt as to the manner in which they should be decided.

STATISTICS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS.

TABLE I.-Number of elementary schools, by classes and accommodation in each class.

From the foregoing table it will be seen that the accommodation in public elementary schools increased by 69,813 places between 1902 and 1903. Of this increase, a little more than half (36,806 places) is due to new schools that have been placed on the list for Government grants. The number of board or council schools that is, schools under public management--was 518 greater in 1903

than in 1902. Of this increase, 28 schools (10 Church of England, 3 Wesleyan, and 15 undenominational) are schools transferred from private to public control. It is further noticeable that the Roman Catholic and Church of England schools are the only classes of schools under private management that show increase during the year. The former number 6 additional schools and 2,471 additional places; the latter, 2 additional schools and 12,777 additional places.

TABLE II.-Enrollment and average attendance for successive years 1897–98 to

As pointed out by the official report, the fluctuations in attendance shown by the above table will be better understood by observing the number of children on the registers between 7 and 11 and over 11 years of age, as shown in the following table:

TABLE III.—Classification of elementary pupils by age periods.

The report observes in reference to the above statistics of enrollment by age periods, that

The number of children between the ages of 7 and 11 has increased steadily, though the rate of increase has tended to become smaller; and that the fluctuations are mainly in the numbers of children over 11 and under 7 years of age, respectively.

(1) The number above the age of 11 has increased very considerably in the three years from 1900 to 1903. There can be no doubt that this is mainly due to the act passed in 1889 to amend the law respecting the employment and education of children, and perhaps partly also to the provisions in the elementary education act of 1900 authorizing local authorities to extend the upper limit of compulsory school attendance from the thirteenth to the fourteenth year of age. The effect of this latter act, however, is mainly to be seen in the increased regularity of attendance, the per cent of average attendance to enrollment having risen from 82.3 in 1900-1901 to 84.5 in 1902-3.

(2) The number of pupils between the ages of 3 and 7 shows an actual decrease between 1898-99 and 1900-1901, while the increase in 1901-2 is very small. The board have no knowledge as to the reason of this, but it is possible

that it may have been due to the South African war. The withdrawal of a number of men from the country led to removals of their families, and the younger children may have been kept at home instead of being sent temporarily to new schools. If this is the case, a very large increase may be expected in the year 1903-4 as compared with 1902-3.

The figures may also point to an increasing tendency for children not to attend school until the legal age (7 years) is reached.

The war also may have been the cause to some extent of the diminution of the rate of increase in the number of children over 11 in the year 1899-1900, as many children may have been compelled to leave school prematurely in consequence of the diminished means of subsistence in their families.

Special attention is also called in the report to irregularities in the statistics for successive years due to the use of the terms "infants" and "older scholars." These terms refer to the classification of children for the payment of the Government grants and not to the classification for purposes of instruction. In certain small schools the grant on the average attendance of infants is paid as if they were older scholars, and they are then counted as such for statistical purposes. Hereafter this confusion will be avoided by counting as "infants for statistical purposes all children who are under instruction as infants.

The ordinary age of promotion from the infants' department or class is between 7 and 8 years, but there has been a steady tendency to lower this age. This tendency has been partially checked since 1900, in which year the regulations introduced the "block grant" and allowed more subjects to be taught in the infant schools.

TABLE IV.-Number and proportion of children in infant schools and schools for older scholars at specified dates.

The tabulated statistics include the schools classified as higher elementary. These number 29 with accommodation for 9,124 pupils, an enrollment of 8,236, and an average attendance of 7,839.

The following statistics summarize information with respect to schools provided for by the elementary education law (blind and deaf children) of 1893:

The official report presents the following statements with respect to measures for increasing the efficiency of the class of schools included in the above table:

Better

The school authorities who make provision for the education of blind and deaf children are now consolidating small schools into larger ones, to which they are empowered to convey children from a distance at the cost of the rates [local taxes] when the parent is unable to bear the charges of conveyance. classification of the children, improved organization, and, consequently, more successful teaching may be expected, and in London these results are already apparent.

There is also a tendency to replace day schools by small boarding institutions. The children are thereby placed under better care and have improved opportunities for drill, games, and a more regular life. More continuous attendance at instruction is also possible in institution schools, and the progress of the scholars is greater.

The future lives of these children are very largely influenced by the education they receive, and the fact that 75 per cent of the blind and 50 per cent of the deaf population of this country are shown by the census of 1901 to be without occupation, indicates the importance of the industrial training of these children. The usual school courses of manual instruction require to be supplemented by higher industrial work, and it is worth notice that several local authorities are now doing this. At the Anerley Institution for older deaf boys advanced woodwork, tailoring, and bootmaking are being taught under approved educational schemes. At Linden Lodge and Elm Court, blind schools for elder boys and girls, respectively, similar schemes are in use. Manchester, Stoke, and Doncaster schools for the deaf, and Birmingham, Leeds, and Sheffield schools for the blind give instruction of a similar character.

An important departure in the work of educating the blind and deaf has been recently taken by the establishment of schools for children who are not only blind or deaf, but are also otherwise defective. For example, at Homerton very useful work is done by the school for feeble-minded deaf mutes, and at Clapton a school has been recently opened for blind children who are mentally defective. An innovation in all blind and deaf schools during the past year has been the introduction of a progress book showing by half-yearly entries the progress of each child in elementary attainments, manual work, character, good habits, and physical powers.

Some of the institutions for the blind, in their attempt to deal with the industrial side of the work, have, through the local education authorities, applied for power to give education other than elementary. In one case sanction to the proposal has already been granted.

TABLE V.-Classification of teachers, number and proportion in each class.

« Not including additional women teachers first employed in 1880 (numbering 17,588 in 1902). TABLE VI.-Relation between number of pupils in average attendance and num

1899-1900. 1900-1901.

1901-2. 1902-3.

Year.

ber of adult teachers.