§ 78. Mr. HAYDAYasked the President of the Board of Education whether he is aware that the accommodation provided for the teaching of boys and girls in Southlands Grammar School, Littlestone-on-Sea, New Romney, Kent, is insufficient; whether, in view of the fact that the governors are mostly non-resident and not in touch with the school, he will approach the Kent Education Committee as to the possibility of the school being transferred to them; whether he is aware that at present there are a number of children of well-to-do parents attending the school at little cost; and whether steps will be taken to secure that this school shall be available for the children of people with limited means who are unable to send their children elsewhere for higher education?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Mr. Fisher)The school is conducted by trustees in premises held on a short lease, and, in view of the sparse-ness of the popuation and of the very limited resources of the foundation, is in the nature of an experiment. If the experiment is successful, the question of placing the school on a more stable basis will have to be considered. The Kent local education authority are fully seised of the circumstances of the case, and may be expected to make proposals for dealing with the higher education of this part of their area when submitting the scheme required under the Education Act, 1918.
The Board have no information as to the class of children at present attending the school. The tuition fees are £12 a year, and the trustees are required to maintain at least two free places for "poor children" from public elementary schools. It is understood that, in addition, individual trustees provide some partial exemptions from fees. As regards the trustees, the-Board's records show that they are mainly drawn from the locality, and that they have been active in promoting the interests of the school and in. pressing its claims for support from the local education authority.