§ 42. Mr. HARRISasked the President of the Board of Education what, accord- 612 ing to the latest available information, is the number of places available in recognised central schools for boys and girls respectively; and what are the numbers of boys and girls, respectively, in average attendance?
§ 38 and 39. Mr. ROBERT WILSONasked the President of the Board of Education (1) the names of the authorities which practise selective transference to organised senior elementary (central) schools; the number of such selective schools (by authority); the number of boys and girls in them (by authority and by age); and the proportion (by authority) of the elementary school population so transferred;
(2) the names of authorities which have definitely adopted the principle of mass transference of elementary school children at a certain age to senior schools or departments; the number of senior departments (by authority) to which children are so transferred, and the number of boys and girls in them by age; and the number of senior schools (by authority) to which children are so transferred, and the number of boys and girls in them by age?
§ Lord E. PERCYThe central school system is in a stage of growth and development when the compilation of statistics on one common basis is difficult and might be misleading. A line of demarcation between selective central schools and non-selective senior schools cannot always be clearly drawn, especially in rural areas. In response to the question put to me on the 19th February last by the hon. Member for Jarrow, however, I am about to address inquiries to local authorities on the subject of their provision of advanced instruction in schools organised for the purpose, and I hope that, when the replies have been examined, I shall be in a position to furnish useful information.
§ Mr. HARRISWill it be possible for the board to more closely define central schools, so that we can have some kind of uniformity, and be able to collect information of this kind?
§ Lord E. PERCYI am rather opposed to dividing education into water-tight compartments, but I think the hon. Member may rest assured that the central 613 schools give advanced instruction, and this is developing very rapidly at this moment.
§ 43. Mr. HARRISasked the President of the Board of Education what, according to the latest available information, are the numbers of men and women teachers, respectively, employed in central schools; how many of these have qualified after taking a third year course of training in a recognised training college; and how many are university graduates?
§ Lord E. PERCYI am not in a. position to supply the information for which the hon. Member asks, nor could it be specially collected without giving local authorities a disproportionate amount of labour and trouble.