§ 69. Mr. Whiteley (for Mr. Kelly)asked the President of the Board of Education what is the estimate of the number of school leavers from schools of London in 1939?
§ The President of the Board of Education (Mr. Oliver Stanley)I am not in a position to form any estimate of the number of children who will leave public elementary schools in London during the year beginning 1st April, 1939, as the school-leaving age provisions of the Education Act, 1936, will operate from 1st September, 1939, and I cannot forecast the number of children who are likely to leave school for beneficial employment before attaining the age of 15. Were it not for the operation of the new Act, I should have expected the number of leavers to be about 47,000.