§ MR. YOXALL (Nottingham, W.)To ask the Secretary to the Board of Education whether time occupied in fire drill may be counted in the minimum time required for a school attendance under the regulations for public elementary schools.
(Answered by Mr. Lough.) I think it is undesirable to lay down definite rulings of general application, irrespective of local circumstances, in matters of the kind referred to in the Question. I can imagine circumstances in which occasional practice in the rapid clearing of children out of a school building, with a little practice in the handling of fire apparatus by the elder boys, might be a very proper thing to sanction as part of the school programme, while it is equally 1040 clear that in many cases such an occupation would be absurd, and in most cases only to be sanctioned occasionally.