§ Sir GEORGE FARDELLasked the President of the Board of Education if he can state how the decreased number of 1629W 637 Church of England schools in 1907–8 compared with the year 1903–4 is accounted for, specifying how many of the schools were privately owned; how many were held under trusts, express or implied; and how many were closed because the average attendance was under 30?
§ Mr. RUNCIMANParticulars as to the number of Church schools closed and transferred since the Act of 1902 came into operation were given by me in an answer on the 29th ultimo. The residue is made up of (1) schools which, although included in the returns for the year 1903–4 were closed or transferred before the Act of 1902 came into operation in the area in which they were situated; (2) schools which have since been amalgamated; (3) schools which were formerly included as Church schools, but have since been reclassified in consequence of inquiries which the Board instituted as to the nature of the religious instruction given in voluntary schools, and the deeds under which they are held. I regret that I have no collated information as to the number of schools coming under each of these categories.