HC Deb 14 February 1938 vol 331 cc1536-7
77. Mrs. Tate

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education what proportion of central schools outside large towns are being built in wholly rural and what proportion in urban surroundings?

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education (Mr. Kenneth Lindsay)

I regret that the information is not available in the form asked for in the question, but I will, with my hon. Friend's permission, circulate in the OFFICIAL REPORT a table showing the position in regard to public elementary school reorganisation in the urban and the rural parts of counties respectively.

Following is the table:

Mrs. Tate

Will the hon. Member impress upon county education authorities in agricultural counties the very great advantages of placing their central schools in wholly rural districts?

Mr. Lindsay

That is what I am doing almost every week and is the Board's policy.

Mrs. Tate

Is the hon. Member aware that in the county of Somerset, which is almost wholly agricultural, nearly half of the central schools are not in rural surroundings, and will he ask the Education Committee to reconsider their schemes?

Mr. De la Bère

Will the hon. Gentleman also bear in mind the Vale of Evesham?