§ Mr. Harveyasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he will state the grounds on which the Board has given its consent to the return to evacuated areas of certain secondary schools, in view of the fact that the conditions in those areas have not changed since their evacuation was planned and that the average age of the pupils is lower than that of senior schools?
Mr. LindsayIn the few cases where the Board have given consent to reopening of secondary schools, the schools concerned have been situated on the fringes of or in a sparsely populated portion of the area. In all such cases it has been a condition that adequate airraid protection has been provided and it has been made clear to parents that attendance is entirely at their discretion. It is not the case that the average age of pupils in secondary schools is lower than that in senior schools. Secondary schools normally take pupils from 11 to 17 and over, and senior schools from 11 to 14. The whole problem is under day-to-day review.