1 10 SCIENTIFIC SURVEY OF BLACKPOOL AND DISTRICT 



By that date a Central School had been opened, an additional Secondary 

 School had been approved, and, with the sanction of the Board of Education, 

 sites had been purchased for two new Senior Schools for over-elevens, the 

 existing elementary schools to be used as junior schools for those not over 

 1 1 . This was before the subject had been referred to the Consultative Com- 

 mittee of the Board of Education, under the chairmanship of Sir Henry Hadow. 



The ' Hadow Report ' was published in 1 926, and it recommended the 

 re-organisation of the whole of the elementary schools m the country. Soon 

 visitors from other authorities who were proposing to re-organise their schools, 

 came to see the new Senior Schools which had been erected at Blackpool, 

 especially to see what practical rooms were provided. Among the visitors who 

 expressed appreciation of the schools were Her Grace the Duchess of AthoU 

 (Parliamentary Secretary to the Board), Miss Strachey (Head of Newnham 

 College, Cambridge), and the late Lord Burnham. 



Each of the new Senior Schools was built on the quadrangular system, a plan 

 which I recommended to the Sites and Buildings Committee in 1920 — class- 

 rooms arranged round a grass court (similar to the arrangement of rooms at the 

 Colleges in Oxford and Cambridge). 



There are now three new Senior Schools Departments : Claremont Schools 

 for the North ; Tyldesley Schools for the Central area ; Highfield Schools 

 for the South and South-east of the borough. In addition, the Roman 

 Catholic managers have re-organised their schools in the South part of the 

 borough, having erected a new Senior School (mixed) to which pupils from 

 St. Cuthbert's Junior School, and St. John Vianney Junior School are trans- 

 ferred between 1 1 and 1 2. 



The Blackpool Education Committee spent over quarter-of-a-million 

 pounds on building new schools during the last 1 years that I was Director, 

 and still have an extensive building programme to carry out. 



Two years ago the borough was extended by the addition of a rapidly- 

 growing area. As the Lancashire Education Committee had been expecting 

 for some years that this area would be added to Blackpool, they had built no 

 new schools in that district, and the Board of Education are now pressing the 

 Blackpool Committee to build schools for these pupils, and two sites have been 

 purchased in the area. In addition, building is progressing in other parts of 

 the borough. The numbers on the books in October, 1931 (when the economy 

 regulations of the Board of Education caused a slackening off of the building 

 of new schools) was 9,899. At present (May, 1 936) the numbers are 1 1 ,226, 

 an increase of 1 ,327 pupils to be provided for. 



The Blackpool Education Committee have for a number of years taken a 

 keen interest in the physical training of their pupils (especially swimming), 

 and have had a physical exercise organiser during the last 18 years. The 

 teachers of the schools, being so keenly interested in the well-being of their 

 pupils, and having their own sports and other committees, have co-operated 

 with him with beneficial results to the pupils. Annual swimming galas are 

 held by some of the individual schools in the borough, also a public swimming 

 gala is held at the large Open-air Baths, in July, open to pupils from all schools 

 in Blackpool, whether independent or rate-aided or supported. An indoor 

 gala for elementary schools is held at the Tower (sometimes there are nearly 



