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Only 4.7 per cent, of the five.year.old children were found by Mrs. Mellanby
(using probe and mirror), to be free from caries, and " much " caries ranged from
60.6 per cent, in the good schools to 67.1 per cent, of the children in the poorest
schools. Mrs. Mellanby also recorded the degree of hypoplasia or defective structure
of the teeth in the children examined by her. In no case did she, according to her
standards, find a condition of normal structure, while the degree of hypoplasia, like
the amount of caries and the incidence of rickety signs, though not so strikingly, was
higher in the poorer than in the better schools.
The Council has voluntarily instituted a routine fourth age group examination
which takes place in the term previous to that in which the children are due to leave
school. The results of this inspection are available at the school-leaving conference
in connection with future employment and are of assistance in the choice of occupation.
This examination is valuable too from a statistical point of view, as it gives a
final verdict upon the results of the work of the school medical service.
The health of
the leaving
child.
The leaving children examined numbered 24,388 boys and 24,217 girls. They
were found better nourished than any other group, only 3.7 per cent, of boys and
2.9 per cent, of girls being returned as under.nourished compared with 5.1 per cent,
and 4.5 per cent, in the case of the 12.year.old group.
The highest standard of personal hygiene is also found in this group, 97.5 per
cent, of boys and 94.6 per cent, of girls being found scrupulously clean at medical
inspection.
The dental condition of the leaving girls was this year better than that of the
12.year.old girls, reversing the findings of last year, when there was recorded a
slight falling off in the dental condition in the leaving girls.
Visual acuity (as measured in school by Snellen's type test, with spectacles on
if worn by the scholars) greatly improves between 12 and 14; 63.2 per cent, of boys
in the leaving group and 59.3 per cent, of girls passing the test satisfactorily, as
against 59.7 per cent, and 55.1 per cent, respectively among the 12.year.old group.
The percentage of leavers referred for tonsillar and adenoid growths was 2.3
and 3.1 in boys and girls compared with 3.2 and 4.0 at 12 years.
Otorrhcea was less frequent in the leaving group, while defect of hearing was,
as last year, found in exactly the same degree in the leaving and 12-year groups.
Anaemia and heart defect were distinctly less prevalent among the leaving
children, both boys and girls. Among the boys the incidence of spinal and other
deformities was also distinctly less, but among the girls these deformities were found
in increased ratios.