148 



' Rural Bias " in Secondary Schools. 



[May, 



value of pruning, spraying and a general clean up of dirty trees. 

 In order to make the lesson memorable, some trees are cared 

 for and others are left alone, so that the comparison is clear and 

 obvious. Cider making is also undertaken by pupils, and in the 

 laboratory they carry out qualitative analyses of feeding stuffs, 

 manures and milk. The principles of drainage and elementary 

 physiology are included in the curriculum, and practical demon- 

 strations in bee-keeping are part of the summer term's work. 

 The course for girls includes all branches of dairy work, book- 

 keeping, correspondence, poultry-keeping, and a study of foods 

 and feeding, together with practical gardening, fruit culture, 

 fruit storage and preservation. Pupils have taken County Agri- 

 cultural Scholarships, both senior and junior, and some have 

 found high places in Agricultural Colleges and elsewhere. The 

 practical work is associated with frequent lectures so that those 

 who learn may understand the principles underlying their 

 teaching. 



By reason of the Government grant for secondary schools and 

 with the aid of the County Authorities, the Board of Education 

 and Sexey's Foundation, it is found possible even in these days 

 of high prices to charge the parents of boarders no more than 

 £42 a year for board, lodging and books. Moreover — and this 

 perhaps is one of the most important aspects of the whole under- 

 taking — the terms under which the school is conducted provide 

 that 25 per cent, of the admissions in any year must be free of 

 charge, and this has a particular significance in view of the 

 " rural bias" because it means that for every hundred pupils 

 who can pay there must be the fixed proportion of those who are 

 unable to do so. Here is the chance for the child of the agricul- 

 tural labourer. It is not sufficient to give the agricultural 

 labourer the minimum wage, because it leaves him without 

 prospects and he sees no better future for his children than that 

 of the so-called "'unskilled worker." He wants something 

 better, and here in the remote Somersetshire Country he finds 

 what he needs. At the present time 40 per cent, of the children 

 at Sexey's are not paying pupils. 



It is interesting to note that Sexey's School started in a barn 

 and was not housed in its present attractive quarters until the 

 success of the undertaking had been proved beyond all question. 

 The Farm School was added to the premises as a going concern 

 about the year 1913, when Mr. Smith handed over the buildings 

 to the School Authorities. To-day the full limit of the accommo- 

 dation has been reached, and so great is the school's popularity 



