Mr. EDMUND HARVEYasked the President of the Board of Education how many classes of over 50 children there are at present in public elementary schools; what was the corresponding number in 1914; and what steps have been taken by the Board during the last 12 months to reduce the size of these classes?
§ Mr. EDWARD WOODI have no figures before 1919–20, and the latest year for which figures have ben tabulated is the year ending on the 31st March, 1922. The figures for 1922 and the two preceding years, for England and Wales, are as follow:
1920 38,174 1921 35,137 1922 33,031 Steady progress in this respect is being made by more careful classification of children and better distribution of teachers, but the problem is largely one of accommodation.