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the children were classed as 'pretubercular,' 7 had evidence of cured tuberculous
lesions (1 knee, 1 costal, 2 cervical glands, and 1 abdominal), 7 children were reported
to be tuberculosis contacts.
"The subsequent history of the defects was :—Anaemia,—-39 children showed
definite improvement; Nutrition—35 children improved considerably in nutrition,
apart from the evidence of increase in weight. Lung conditions—the children who
had a history or other evidence of bronchitis bore the open-air life well. Seven of
the 14 improved markedly whilst in school, and in 1 case tonsillectomy enabled the
child to make an early return to the elementary school. The cases of fibrosis remain
much the same as on admission, but the asthma cases showed improvement. In
2 of the 4 cases the regime of the school brought about an almost complete cessation
of the attacks. Whether these cases were true asthma is doubtful. Cardiac conditions—the
organic cases remained as before, except that two of the children benefited
in general physical condition. In 2 of the hsemic cases the murmur disappeared,
whilst in a third cardiac tone improved. Cervical glands—in 5 cases enlargement
of the cervical glands disappeared, and in 8 others they became appreciably smaller.
Gastric disturbance—of the 7 children who had a history of gastric disturbance on
admission 3 had no attacks during their stay at the school, and 2 of the others had
only one or two attacks. I attribute this improvement to the provision of suitable
meals at the school, and to the fact that where parents have asked for special diets
we have insisted on the children being treated as ordinary individuals. Nervous
conditions—3 of the 6 cases of nervous instability definitely improved, but the 4 cases
of chorea showed no improvement. One of the latter became worse. This is in
keeping with previous experience of open-air schools. True chorea does not
improve.
" I am of opinion that it is essential that some provision should be made for
the continuance of the fresh air treatment during the time that the school is closed.
A great effort was made at Upton House to secure country' holidays for as many
children as possible. Nineteen boys were sent to Bushy during this period, 8 children
were provided for by the Country Holiday Fund, and 22 children had a holiday of
more than a week's duration with their parents. Thus 49 children out of a total
of 161 received some form of continuation of their treatment.
" Clothing and Footgear—This is always an important consideration in open-air
schools, and Upton House has had its problems to face in this respect. The
school is fortunate in that its asphalted playground saves it from that bane of openair
schools—mud. Experiments were made during the summer months with clothing
of the bathing costume type. The parents responded well to our demand for sunbathing
dress, and we look for a still greater response during the coming year. The
problem of securing dry clothing for the children in wet weather has been under
consideration. An additional cloak room has been provided and a clothing store
has been established. Gifts of clothing have been made by Upton House Central
School, our neighbours, and others who are interested in the work. It is essential
that a child undergoing a course of open-air treatment be properly shod, and the
difficulty of securing this seems almost unsurmountable. Many of the children in
Upton House are drawn from the poorest parts of Shoreditch and Hackney and
their parents seem quite unable to provide satisfactory footwear. One morning
during heavy rain 26 children arrived at the school wearing plimsolls. Clogs have
been provided for the gardening boys, and it is to be regretted that provision of
this nature cannot be made for the whole school. Meanwhile a healthy boot club
is attempting to fill the breach."
" At the close of the year 1929 the number on the roll at this school was 309 ; Holly Court,
of this number 177 were boys and 132 were girls. The average attendance works t['
around the number 238. Owing to the distance of the school from the tram terminus,