§ 19. Colonel DAYasked the President of the Board of Education whether, in view of the different fees charged by secondary schools in various parts of England and Wales, varying from £ 8 and more in some counties to £ 1 Is., or less, in others, he will confer with local education authorities with a view to reducing these fees so that the children of poorer parents should be given a better chance of secondary education?
§ The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of EDUCATION (Lord Eustace Percy)As the hon. and gallant Member is aware, I am inviting all authorities to submit to me programmes covering the needs of their area over a period of three or five years. The point raised in the question is one which authorities will, no doubt, consider when drawing up these programmes.
§ 28. Mr. FENBYasked the President of the Board of Education what proportion of pupils entering secondary schools with free places do so at the age of 13 plus; and has the Board any information as to the success of these pupils, as compared with those who enter at the age of 11 plus?
§ Lord E. PERCYExact figures are not available, but on the information before me I do not think that the number of free-place pupils who are admitted at 13 years of age or later represents more than 10 per cent. of the free-place admissions. As regards the second part of the question, I have no particulars as to the attainments of these late entrants which would enable me to institute such a comparison as the hon. Member suggests.