§ MR. HALLEY STEWART (Lincolnshire, Spalding)asked the Vice President of the Committee of Council on Education, Whether the Order excluding boys over 10 years of age from the Board School, Quadring Fen, Lincolnshire, was made from any inability on the part of the mistress to keep boys over 10 years of age under control; whether he is aware that the schoolmistress has 50 pupils under her sole control without the help of an assistant or pupil teacher; whether the Order made, excluding boys over 10 years of age, is due to the large number of scholars in the care of the mistress; and, whether he will urge the School Board to provide such teaching assistance to the mistress that the School may be opened again to the excluded boys resident near the school?
THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. STUART-WORTLEY)(who replied) (Sheffield, Hallam)said: My right hon. Friend the Vice President desires me to say that the hon. Member makes it necessary to repeat for the third time that the main reason for the exclusion of these boys was the difficulty the teacher had in keeping them under proper control; but there was an absolute necessity to reduce the number in any case, as the school only accommodates 42 children, and last year there were more than 41 in average attendance.