§ Mr. CADOGANasked the President of the Board of Education whether he has considered the Report of Lord Gorell's Committee upon the use of the cinematograph in education; whether he has been able to carry the inquiry any further; and, if so, with what results
§ Lord E. PERCYI have considered the report in question and have caused an inquiry to be made into the possibilities of the practical use of the cinematograph for educational purposes. In the result I am disposed to think that its proper place and function as an instrument of instruction cannot yet be defined. No doubt films of a general character illustrating scenery, natural history, wild or primitive life, agricultural, commercial and industrial operations and other activities of our complex civilization may serve a very useful purpose in supplementing and providing a background for the instruction given in the schools and in augmenting its significance and interest; such films would be educational in the widest sense for adults as well as children. But so far as concerns the use of films as a means of specific instruction in the class-room, at a cost not out of proportion to its value, the results of my inquiry 47W have been, generally speaking, negative; and while there is no doubt a fairly wide field for educational experiment, I do not think that the time has yet arrived when it is possible to make specific recommendations on the subject.