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The percentages of bad nutrition and of very pale children in each group of schools should be
remarked. It is at once evident that although there is no direct connection between anæmia and
bad nutrition, both conditions are commonest in the poorer schools. Ill-nutrition is related largely
to want of employment and consequent privation. It is also related in other cases largely to bad housing
; to want of sleep and large families. Anæmia seems to be also intimately associated with the
presence of adenoids, enlarged tonsils, and other diseased conditions. Regarding the schools, as a
whole, these three conditions seem to have about equal effects, but to be principally evidenced as want
of food in the poorer, want of sleep and proper domestic hygiene in the medium schools, and want of
exercise and effects of debilitating disease in the better class schools.
Good schools.—The parents are generally in continuous work and housing is good. The
general standard of health and nutrition may be said to be surprisingly good. It was in regard to one
of these that Sir John Gorst wrote to the newspapers about this time, complaining of the impression
made by the condition of the children. The report of the medical officer for the school was:
These children are in very good condition and well cared for. 96 per cent. of the girls are very clean in
external appearance, and 146 out of 410 have provided themselves with special canvas shoes for drill."
Medium schools.—Here housing begins to be evident. There is generally want of near
open spaces and a tendency to overcrowding, so that want of sleep is common. The following is a type:
"This is a good school in a very poor neighbourhood. On making a tour of the district the doctor noted
that the children excluded from school were in a shocking condition, a great contrast to those attending regularly.
They do not appear to have any treatment in most cases, and are kept in a horribly filthy condition, not at all conducive
to a cure. Any old rags seem sufficient to clothe these unfortunate, excluded children when they do not
come under the eye of an authority."
Poor schools.—The housing conditions are generally very poor, families are often large
and the larger the family the less rent can be afforded. There is also unemployment always facing
the father, and malnutrition is evident in some of these schools. A well-known school in the North
of London is described as a type—
"Extreme poverty so that there is hardly a child up to the average Islington standard. Most of the men
are unskilled workers often out of employ. Nearly every child requires feeding in the winter months. Bread and
milk has been most successful. The teachers say they notice the deterioration after a fortnight's holiday. The
children of widows are, as has been noted before, generally better than the others. Intemperance is difficult to assess
but it is common to find that beer is fetched twice a day. In the 43 cases marked ill-nutrition, actual existing disease
accounted for 10. In 29 cases serious home conditions of poverty and underfeeding existed; 11, father out of work;
3, father in hospital, prison or deserted; 1, both parents blind; 3, drink seemed the cause. In these 29 families, 10
had 6 or more children. Medically speaking, inspection here is accompanied by but little benefit as the parents are
of the class who pay no attention to messages conveyed to them from the school, and have neither the time, the money
nor the inclination to take the children to the hospital."
A more detailed enquiry was made at Laxon-street and Sirdar-road schools, by Drs. Squire
and Sikes; there were 685 boys and 725 girls, a total of 1,410 children. Sirdar-road, Notting Dale,
is one of the poorest schools of London, in the midst of a migratory, criminal and thoroughly
degenerate and poverty stricken population. Laxon-street is also in a very poor district. Lack of
employment, improvidence and drink are exceedingly common in both districts.
Conditions found.—Sirdar-road children. Heights and weights. Using as a standard the
figures obtained from the measurement of 6,122 children in "poor schools" Group A. of last years'
report, and comparing with them the actual measurements made at Sirdar-road and also measurements
of what the Standard weight would be if corrected for height of the children at Sirdar-road, it
is found that the figures are similar above 9 years of age; below 9, the Sirdar-road children are very
deficient in weight compared with the "poorer schools" ; at 13 and 14 they are as good if not
better.