SCHOOL I5L lLDIXl.,S AXD SITICS. I95 



In the hotter centres of this country I suljmit that at least 12 • 

 superficial feet of floor area per scholar should be allowed for 

 elementary schools and i6 feet for secondary establishments. 



The number of scholars per room being- fixed, the floor area 

 is easily decided by calculation, but there still remains the relative 

 leng-th, breadth and height to be determined, and upon the scien- 

 tific adjustment of these factors the effectiveness of the lighting 

 and ventilation depends. 



Now, assuming that a class room should be lighted on one 

 side only, and that in this country it cannot be properly lighted if 

 the opposite wall is more than 21, to ^4 feet distant from the win- 

 dows, it naturally follows that the width being- thus fixed, the 

 length is computed by that required to seat the number of scholars 

 stipulated for. This number is, of course, governed by the limit 

 of distance that the farthest scholar can be seated from the 

 teacher, and as this may be placed at 24 to 25 feet, the length of 

 room should not exceed, say, 30 feet. It must not be overlooked, 

 however, that in this country of bright light and clear atmosphere 

 the maximum or minimum width of a class room must to some 

 extent be reg-ulated by the aspect of the windows and the exposure 

 of them to sun during school hours. 



The height of a class room is an important factor in the light- 

 ing- thereof, for if a room is, to meet certain requirements, of 

 necessity more than 25 feet wide, the height of room must be 

 increased to secure sufficient lighting- area from the windows. As- 

 regards the acoustics and ventilation of a class room, it is gener- 

 ally admitted that any excess over 13 feet in height from floor to 

 ceiling is a waste. Now, assuming that a class room is required 

 to accommodate, say, 40 scholars, the floor area fallowing t6 

 square feet per scholar for a secondary school) would be 40 x 16 = 

 640 superficial feet, and as the width is limited to say 24 feet, 

 the length of room would be say 28 feet. Thus the cubic capacity 

 allowed per scholar would be -?^— ^-?5_Ji_lL = saA- 218 cubic feet, 



40 - 



which is about right, though I know more than that is laid down 

 in some Departmental schedules as being necessarv. and under 

 certain climatic conditions the requirement is undoubtedly reason- 

 able. On the other hand, in the cooler districts 180 cubic feet 

 has been found ample. 



So much, however, depends upon the natural ventilation of the 

 rooms when windows are open and when, in bad weather, closed, 

 that each case must be dealt with upon its own scientific basis. 



LIGHTING. 



It is hardly necessarv to preface my remarks upon lighting 

 b\- reminding my readers that a class room must be lighted from 

 the left hand side of the scholars Vv'hen seated, and that the win- 

 dows must be equally distributed over the wall area, and not be 

 irregularly spaced, as in the latter case the light would be un- 

 equally distributed over the room. It is also an acknowledged 

 fact that the farther side of the window that is farthest from the 

 teacher should be in a line with the backs of the last row of 

 scholars. These are the bases upon which the lighting of a room 

 is calculated. 



