View report page

142
Annual Re-port of the London County Council, 1910
Of the 240 referred candidates 10 (4 male and 6 female) were referred a second time owing to
the conditions not having been remedied, viz., 3 (2 males and 1 female) to a dentist and 7 (2 male
and 5 females) to an oculist.
References. In addition to the first examinations 810 references were dealt with. These references relate
to leave to be granted to employees absent owing to personal illness; to teachers returning to duty
after extended leave of absence (a) owing to personal illness; (b) in order to visit educational institutions
abroad or to study for degrees; (c) to married women under No. 93 of the regulations
with regard to the Education Service; and to teachers about to be superannuated. Eighty-nine of these
references related to claims made by teachers for payment of salaries for periods of absence owing to
illnesses alleged to have been contracted in the course of school duties. The number of references
under review compared with those for the preceding vear shows an increase of 85 or 11.72 per cent.
Scholarships
and Training
of Teachers.
The scholarships and awards granted by the Council fall naturally into three divisions, each oi
which requires different treatment in so far as the medical examination of the candidates is concerned,
These divisions are as follows—
(a) County scholarships enabling candidates to proceed to institutions of university rank.
(b) Technical scholarships enabling candidates to receive instruction in trades ; and
special scholarships.
(c) Awards enabling candidates to prepare for the teaching profession.
County Scholarships.—These scholarships are of four grades (junior, supplementary junior,
intermediate and senior) and provide a complete scheme by which a boy or girl may proceed by various
stages from the public elementary schools to the highest grades of education, whether at a university,
technical college or other institution, providing advanced training for a professional career. In
medically examining these candidates the stage of the scholarship is carefully noted as the strain
increases with the award, and it sometimes happens that a candidate who has been accepted for a
junior county scholarship is rejected for the succeeding awards because attendance at higher institutions
would be injurious to health. The main regulations as to junior county scholarships are that the
head teachers of elementary schools in London are required to fill up nomination forms for the
general examination for junior county scholarships for all boys and girls attending their schools, who
(a) whilst not less than 11, will be less than 12 years of age on 31st July, and (b) who are working
at the time of examination in the fifth or a higher standard. Head teachers are at liberty to nominate
any other candidates who will not be working at the time of the examination in the standards as
prescribed above, provided they are eligible in other respects. The medical officer (education) is
required to certify that the scholar is in a fit state physically to take advantage of the scholarship. The
medical examination practically gives the defects of the brightest children of the age group, 11 years
old last birthday, and, as the children must, in any case, remain in school until 14 years of age,
the rejections are few. Most useful work is done, however, by making it a condition of award that
all remediable defects shall be treated before the children are allowed to take up the scholarships.
Supplementary junior county scholarships are reserved for children of less than 15 and not
less than 13 years of age who by reason of late development or other cause fail to obtain the junior
county scholarships.
The intermediate county scholarships are open to boys and girls who are not less than 15 and
less than 17 years of age on 31st July in the year of competition, and are tenable at approved secondary
schools or technical colleges until the end of the school year in which the scholar attains the age
of 18, but may be renewed for a further period of one year. The senior county scholarships are intended
to assist candidates, who must, as a rule, be less than 22 years of age on 31st July in the
year of the award, to proceed to universities, university colleges, technical colleges or institutions of
university rank. Appendix VIII. shows the number of candidates examined and the conditions found.

The 8 out of 839 finally rejected for want of cleanliness compares favourably with 50 out of
812 in the previous year.