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174 Annual Report of the London County Council, 1912.
II. I., aged 11. A mouth-breather, tonsils somewhat enlarged, probable adenoids.
Weight, June, 35 kilograms.
September, 33 „
October, 369 „
November, 37.4
General improvement in physique.
S. B., aged 11.2. A delicate boy who has suffered from fistula in arm. He is now well.
The open air appears to have been the chief factor in the cure.
W. M., aged 12. A small pale boy much improved. Weight increased from 23.4 to 24.5
kilograms (in November).
F. S., aged 10.6. Weight increased from 25.2 kilograms in June to 26.3 kilograms at end
of August. He is said to have been tubercular, and has been taking cod liver oil since last
winter. During all the time the class was going on he was free from colds, though habitually
subject to them before and since.
From the appearance of the boys and their records of growth, there appears to be no doubt
that this playground class has been beneficial to the health of the children concerned.
Open-air class in Finsbury Park.—(Islington, N.).—Held in the band stand in Finsbury Park,
and composed of 31 girls from the Poole's Park (G.) school, between the ages of eight and nine years.
They were all chosen as being particularly delicate, a fact to be remembered in estimating the health
of the class as compared with that of a class of normal girls. On the whole the results are
satisfactory, as the children showed a general improvement in health and in mental capacity, though
in some cases, owing to adverse circumstances, the improvement was less marked. Though all the
children were more or less delicate, in 19 or 64 0 per cent., definite defects and actual illness prevented
their regular attendance. These 19 children showed 22 defects as follows :—
Adenoids—four cases.
Blepharitis and conjunctivitis—five cases.
Skin disease (impetigo and scabies)—three cases.
Heart disease (slight mitral bruit)—one case.
Anaemia—one case.
Rickets—one case.
Chorea—two cases.
Wasting—one case.
Appendicitis—one case.
Slight sore throat—two cases.
" Consumptive throat "—one case.
With the exception of two children (cases of appendicitis and chorea) who left the clas3
shortly after its start, all showed marked improvement. It is worthy of remark that in one
case of conjunctivitis, the child was one of a family who were all affected, and that she recovered
long before the other members of the family who were not in the open-air. The children for the most
part came from wretched homes, where they are neglected, underfed, and kept dirty, and the hours
spent amid these surroundings have probably done much to counteract the good effects of the open-air
during school hours. In spite of these facts, the increase in height and weight during the period was
satisfactory, and compares very favourably with that of the control class composed of normal girls.
This is well shown bv the following figures, which were worked out bv the head mistress:—

A study of the charts showing the heights and weights of the children shows in almost every case
a steady rise, though in many of them, as might be expected, the holiday period is marked by a fall in
weight. This fact is significant, pointing as it does to the deleterious effect of home life as compared
with that at school.
Open-air class in Southwark Park.—This class was composed of children picked out by the head
teachers of Farncombe-street (Rotherhithe) and Southwark Park (Rotherhithe) schools. Owing to the
fact that these children had to be selected from a small number (to secure similarity in their educational
status) it was found impossible to pick out many cases which were greatly in need of open-air treatment.
Most cases were selected because they were considered to be pale or ill-nourished, or were mouthbreathers
or had a bad family history.