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over that in boys of the same age otherwise situated. For instance, the percentages
of defect in boys' secondary schools in London compared with those in boys in trade
and technical schools showed no significant differences. There were in 1927 amongst
bovs of 15:—
Enquiry into
the occurrences
of
postural
defects
and their
causation.
The school
medical
officer.
Spine.
Flat foot.
Other
deformities.
Secondary schools 1.3 3.0 2.1
Trade and technical schools 1.4 3.0 1.7
A further reference to me on 30th March, 1929, was accompanied by notes
made by Captain Grenfell of the Board of Education in which specific schools were
mentioned. It then became necessary to conduct an investigation into the condition
at these schools and an examination of individual pupils in order to ascertain if
possible whether any correlation could be found between the conditions of work and
the posture and physical development of the pupils. The enquiry was carried out
by Dr. Nairn Dobbie and extended over several months.
Social conditions.—The boys are average working class lads collected from
all over London without weighting of racial or local character. Roughly half of
them are scholarship holders, but no significant difference in bearing or physique
was on close examination discoverable between the scholars and the others. This
fairly level standard of physical development was also found when such differences
of home conditions as could be elicited were taken into account such as, for instance,
whether the boys' fathers were in the same trade or not or whether the distance
travelled to school was small or great.
In Dr. Dobbie's opinion the dietary of the boys and their whole diet generally
is of first importance. Barely one-third of the boys individually examined stated
that they had their dinners in school, a few went home, many carried sandwiches
others went out for " dinner "—consisting not infrequently of a bun and a cup of
tea. Often it was the boys who needed a good diet most whose meals were casual
and unsatisfactory. There is no school restaurant at the Central School of Arts and
Crafts, but at other schools weekly or monthly vouchers for meals at schools can be
purchased, and this is better than giving the lads money day by day for there is
great temptation to spend the money on extraneous objects. Unfortunately the
finance of the family in some cases precludes the purchase of vouchers.
It seems desirable that some arrangement should be set up to deal with
the social aspect and care of these boys who with their families, certainly in these
matters, require guidance and help at least as much as do the children in elementary
schools.
Working conditions in school.—It was not found that working conditions in
school had any adverse influence. The discipline was found to be that of interest
as opposed to force and the boys never assumed any fixed attitude or position for
many minutes on end. No signs of over-pressure in school work were apparent.
Almost every type of desk is found in the classrooms from dual patterns to flattopped
tables and chairs. Often several types are present in the same room, really
an advantage which goes to meet the needs of different sized boys. The workshop
benches also vary in height from 2 ft. 4 ins. to 3 ft. 2 ins. in some cases.
In the case of stone masoning the benches must be low in order to keep the
height of the material worked at a suitable level—a block of stone may be a foot
or more in height. In some cases when the bench was more than 2 ft. 8 ins. high
smaller boys were at a disadvantage and when working at machines and lathes the
smallest boys had to stand upon stools, which is disadvantageous. There is, however,
no ideal height for any bench when the lads dealt with present in the same
grade differences of 2 ft. in height, and there is no work bench of convenient height
which does not necessitate bending over it. In no instance are all the benches too
high or all too low, and the general average height of the benches is the most suitable