366 



NATURE 



[May II, 1911 



886 schools in 1908-9 educating 80,390 boyi and 69.580 

 girlf. 



Length of School Life. 



The length of school life is a matter to which the Board 

 attnches very great importance, for if the bulk of thp pupils 

 in fact drop out of a secondary school after passing through 

 only a fraction of the school course, it is clear that the 

 secondary school is not fulfilling its aim and is not entitled 

 to State aid. An article of the regulations expressly pro- 

 vi(l«'S that a school will not be recognised as a secondary 

 school unless (i) an adequate proportion of the pupils 

 remain at Irast four years in it, and (2) an adequate 

 proportion of the pupils remain in it up to and beyond the 

 agf of sixteen. 



Tho average length of school life in schools on the grant 

 list is not yet nearly so high as it should be. Some 

 improvcmont is bfinjj made, but it continues to be slow. 



At the end of- tqcx) the Board took up the cases of thirty- 

 five schools which appeared to have an exceptionally short 

 average school life, and, after a careful investigation of the 

 circumstances of each case, addressed to twenty-six of these 

 schools a warning that continued failure to comply efTec- 

 tively with the Board's requirements would entail removal 

 from the grant list. In many of these cases the Board 

 suggested that an undertaking should be required from the 

 parents of all pupils, on their admission to the school, that 

 they would not be removed without good reason before 

 rompletinjj an adequate period of school life ; and directed 

 attention to the fact that such an undertaking with a 

 penalty enacted had f-lready been adopted by several school 

 authorities WMth marked results. The suggestion has, as a 

 rule, been cordially accepted, and is, it is believed, already 

 having good effect ; but these and all other cases where 

 there is a tendency for the school life to be abnormally 

 short are being kept under careful observation, and action 

 is being taken where necessary. 



Attendance at Evening and shnilar Schools. 



Statistics for 1909-10 with reference to schools and classes 

 intended for those whose ordinary avocation occupies the 

 greater part of their time will be given in the statistical 

 volume for that year, to be issued later in 191 1. Refer- 

 ence, however, to Tables 83 and 09 in the 1908-9 statistical 

 volume reveals an increase in the total number of students 

 enrolled in these schools from 7:51,600 in 1907-8 to 752,356 

 in 1908-0. These figures show but little progress in popular 

 appreciation of the facilities offered to those desirous of 

 recovering what they have lost of their previous education, 

 or wishing to obtain a wider and firmer grasp of the 

 principles underlyintif their several callings, whether these 

 be in industries, in commerce, in professions, or in domestic 

 occupations. It is also matter for regret that nearlv 20 per 

 cent, of the students enrolled failed to complete the small 

 minimum of attendances required in order to enable grants 

 to be paid towards their instruction. 



The average number of hours of instruction received per 

 student in the county boroughs (including London) as a 

 whole was 55. In seven county boroughs this avcrajje was 

 under 40; and in 21 others, while more than 40. it was 

 under 50. In 47 it was above 50 ; in nearly all of 

 these it was under 80, but in 10 county boroughs, situated 

 in Lancashire and Yorkshire, and in one in Cheshire, the 

 average number of hours received per student during the 

 year 1908-9 exceeded 80, in two cases the average being 

 more than 100 hours. In such cases the high average 

 reflects considerable credit on the organisation of the work 

 of^ further eduration, and very satisfactory results may 

 fairly be anti(ipatrd from the instruction received by the 

 students. 



In the administrative counties (excluding London) each 

 student received on an average 48 hours of instruction. In 

 view of the number of short courses of special instruction 

 recognised as eligible for grants in certain rural areas, as 

 well as for other reasons, it is to be expected that the 

 .average should be lower in rural than in urban areas. Only 

 in seven cases, however, was the average below 30 hours ; 

 in 17^ others, while more than 30, it was under 40 ; in the 

 remaining 37 this average was above 40, and in three 

 of these cases it exceeded 60, in two of them being more 

 than 80. 



From these figures it will be seen, on one hand, how 

 NO. 2167, VOL. 86] 



meagre is the amount of instruction received by tite stud< : ' 

 in some areas, and, on the other, that even under exist: 

 circumstances some students c^n be induced to give ' 

 continued attention to their further education. 



The number of students more than 31 years of age r 

 fallen from 353.677 in 1907-8 to 347,436 in 1908-9. 



Technical Institutions. 



The total amount of advanced instruction of the kind 

 provided in technical institutions is still disappointingly 

 small. In some of the more important industries, as, for 

 example, engineering, the instruction is largely utilised bv 

 students ; but in a great many others the supply of students 

 is very small. It is to be deplored that there are several 

 schools in which the well-qualified staffs and the excellent 

 equipment practically stand idle in the day-time through 

 lack of students. 



The students enrolled in the 43 technical institutior.'- 

 which were recognised as eligible for grant in i9o.v--( 

 numbered 3400, of whom 3010 qualified for grant. Of th'--< 

 latter 1990 took full courses of instruction ; 806 wer< 

 engaged in the work of the first year, 653 in that of the 

 second, 406 in that of the third, and 135 in still more 

 advanced work. There is still a tendency to admit students 

 to technical institutions before they have had an adequate 

 course of general education; 211 students were under 16 

 years of age at the opening of the session 1908-9. 



For the year 1909-10, 49 technical institutions were 

 recognised as eligible for grant, showing an increase of 

 seven over those recognised in the previous year. 

 Day Technical Classes. 



Grants are payable under Article 42 of the rtj,'>.i....„... 

 to schools and classes which are, as a rule, for students 

 younger than those in the technical institutions. Under 

 this category there are included, however, some classes of a 

 standard equal to that required in a technical institution, 

 but with courses not of sufficient duration to be eligible 

 for fjrants as technical institutions. Day technical classes 

 vary in their aims, some being preparatory to trades, such 

 as engineering, others providing instruction of a domestic 

 type, others again being for blind or deaf students. 



In 1908-Q, in England and ^Vales, day technical classes 

 were recognised as eligible for grant in 103 institutions ; 

 and at the 180 courses for which grants were paid, 10,237 

 students were enrolled, of whom 9636 qualified for grant. 

 Of these courses, 109 were full-time and 71 part-time: 

 6n7 students attending the former, 3490 the latter. Of the 

 full-time courses, 52 were for junior students, of whom 

 4039 qualified for grant, and 57 courses were for senior 

 students, of whom there were 2102 who also satisfied the 

 conditions of eligibility for grant. 



For the year 1909-10, day technical clasf^' 'Og- 



nised as eligible for grant in log institutions. 



T' 



THE BRITISH SCIENCE GUILD. 



*HK report of the British Science Guild, presented at the 

 fifth annual meeting, held on April 7, has just been 

 distributed. .\ few of the subjects dealt with in the report 

 were mentioned in the account of the annual meeting 

 which appeared in Nature of April 13 ; and we now reprint 

 the section referring to Government organisation, a sum- 

 mary of the first report of the Canadian committee, and the 

 conclusions and recommendations of the Technical Educa- 

 tion Committee. The report of the Canadian committee 

 shows that valuable work in promoting the aims of the 

 Guild is being carried on in the Dominion. ^Ve note with 

 interest that among the subjects receiving consideration 

 are the teaching of science in schools, technical education, 

 the conservation of natural resources, and the location of 

 icebergs by their temperature effects — a very important 

 matter to ships navigating in many waters durinj: foggy 

 weather. 



The report of the Technical Education Committee, which 

 runs to forty-eight pages, should be read in connection with 

 Lord Haldane's remarks upon technical education at the 

 annual meeting. In the course of his speech, he said: — 

 " With regard to technical education, there is more going 

 on in this country than people realise, and the mistake that 

 has led to the want of recognition of this is the lir>Vv'f rurinlc 



