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100
for blind children in London were closed. Boys of primary-school
age were transferred to Linden Lodge in that year. During the
second World War, the school was evacuated to Kent and thence
to Oxford. In 1948, North House (designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens)
in Princes Way, Wimbledon Park, was purchased and this became
the primary department. To meet the demands of the increased
numbers of blind children, a hostel for senior girls was opened
in Augustus Road, Wimbledon Park in 1955; in 1964 the new
purpose-built school on the North House site was completed to
give total accommodation for 100 boarders and 20 day pupils.
At the end of the year there were 80 pupils in attendance including
11 day pupils aged from five to eighteen.
The building contains a medical block consisting of three isolation
rooms and a duty room. There is also a medical inspection
room, used by the visiting medical officer each week and containing
ophthalmological apparatus for use by the visiting specialist. The
school's health record is good. A photograph of the new school
appears in the centre pages (plate D).
Schools and classes for deaf and partially-hearing children
Oak Lodge school for deaf children is a purpose-built secondary
school with places for 84 children, including 32 who can be accommodated
in an attached hostel as five-day boarders. In September,
1968, there were 43 children on the roll, with 27 boarders. A
steady increase in the roll is to be expected, for the children come
from all parts of London. The classroom accommodation, the
hearing-aid equipment and the practical rooms are outstanding
features.
Sellincourt Primary School has a partially-hearing unit for 29
children. The three classrooms have been equipped with a loop
aid, and desks in two classrooms have been fitted with a group aid.
Southfields Secondary School had a partially-hearing unit established
in September, when six children were admitted under the
care of a teacher of the deaf.
School for physically handicapped children
Greenmead has five classes, each of approximately 15 children
aged from four to eleven. Cerebral palsy, spina bifida and heart
defects are the main physical handicaps. In some cases, additional
disabilities are present, e.g. educational subnormality, speech and
hearing defects, poor vision, specific learning difficulties due to
brain damage, behaviour disturbances and fits.
A normal primary-school curriculum is provided but children
are taught to use the electric typewriter if the physical handicap
makes handwriting difficult. Children are encouraged to make the
maximal physical effort within the limits of their disabilities. A
group of children use the learners' pool at Putney Swimming Baths