192 SCHOOL BUILDINGS AND SITES. 



CLOAK ROOMS. 



Cloak rooms should be placed conveniently close to the en- 

 trances, and on no account be a portion of the assembly hall or 

 class rooms. Separate rooms should be provided for the sexes^f 

 and they should open off a corridor with wide archways instead 

 of doors to prevent overcrowding- around the entrance and to- 

 secure proper supervision and ventilation. Separate entrances for 

 admission a.nd exit are desirable to avoid confusion and secure- 

 speedy passage through. The windows should be of ample area, 

 easily cleaned and so arranged that a constant supply of fresh 

 air and through draught is secured and circulated around the 

 clothing racks. Every precaution must be taken against the air 

 of cloak rooms finding its way into the assembly hall or class 

 rooms. Inlet and outlet ventilators, independent of the windows, 

 should be provided to secure perfect ventilation when the school 

 is closed and perhaps the windows are closed. Cloak rooms- 

 should be in a shady aspect and kept as cool as possible to prevent 

 germ development ; the floors and walls should be lined with im- 

 pervious material that can be speedily washed and disinfected. All 

 joints should be of hard and non-absorbent cement, perfectly 

 smooth and flush with the face of wall lining, and all inside and 

 outside angles of walls and the joint of walls with floors be 

 rounded oft' to prevent any accumulation of dirt. Projecting skirt- 

 ings or mouldings should be avoided for the same reason. 



Drying closets for wet clothes and boots are not as a rule- 

 required in this country, but the provision of a small air-tight 

 closet for the fumigation of garments or books by formaldehyde 

 vapour would be a wise and inexpensive precaution, as epidemics 

 and vermin are not unknown even in the better class of school. 

 In many of the lower .grade schools I submit that a bathroom 

 or shower bath should be provided, as cliildren from the poorer 

 h.omes are often dirty, and for the sake of their cleaner fellows 

 should have the means of cleansing themselves, which are often, I 

 fear, not to be found at their homes. Each cloakroom should be 

 fitted with clothes and hat racks of enamelled metal, with wire 

 netting backs to secure a circulation of air. A space of I2in. 

 should be allowed to eacli scholar, and each should have his or' 

 her own hat and clothes peg" kept quite distinct, so as to prevent 

 overlapping of the next section. At least 4 feet should be left 

 clear between each range of racks and between the racks and 

 seats that may be against the walls, but entirely moveable. Should 

 lockers be favoured, they must be moveable to ensure periodical 

 airing and cleansing. 



LAVATORIES. 



In connection with the cloak rooms, but distinct from them,, 

 ranges of lavatory basins, supported independently of the floors, 

 and fitted with self-closing cocks, wastes and concealed supply" 

 pipes, should be provided, say one basin for every 12 or 15 pupils- 

 The provision of towels, however, is a debateable matter. 



