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from the seat that the seat itself is from the floor; e.g., in a chair of 16 inches height
of seat, the lower margin of the back-rest should be 8 inches from the seat.
In conjunction with the Council's architect, a survey was made of the drinking
fountains in school playgrounds. An inspection was made at each school, and
particulars of the number of drinking fountains in the various elementary schools
are set out below :—
Old pattern with spring valves, bowls, cups and chains 3,207
New pattern with bubble jet valves 811
4,018
Additional fountains required to comply with full scale,
based on recognised accommodation of schools, i.e.,
1 to 100 boys or girls, 1 to 135 girls and infants 918
Number of fountains fixed against walls of offices or
urinals:—
Old pattern 573
Bubble jet pattern 222
795
After consultation with the architect as to the type of fountain to be provided
in the schools, it was agreed that the use of the bubble jet pattern should be continued.
With regard to the objection raised by a borough medical officer to bubble
jet and other fountains being placed on the external walls of offices, it will be observed
from the table that 795 fountains are so placed, as this position is economical as
regards the provision of water supply and drainage. His view was that children
should be encouraged to wash their hands before drinking, and for this reason the
drinking water should be placed near the wash-hand basins and not near the sanitary
conveniences. It was agreed that this object should be aimed at, and where it is
economically possible to place the fountains away from the offices, recommended
that this should be done. The cost of a bubble jet fountain may be taken as 38s. for
the apparatus, to which has to be added the cost of water services and drainage,
which varies considerably in each single case. When, however, a range is installed,
these charges are proportionately reduced. To summarise the position, it was
recommended that the provision of bubble jet fountains should be continued for
drinking purposes in school playgrounds ; that, as fountains of the cup type become
past repair, they should be replaced by those of the bubble jet type ; and that, as
and when it is found economical and practical, existing fountains should be removed
from the exterior walls of offices.
Age
groups.
The results of medical inspection in 1935.
The average roll of children in London elementary schools for the year 1934-5
was 534,611, and the average attendance 471,342.
In order to secure a better distribution over school life of the incidence of routine
medical inspections, and to bring them into organic relation with the great periods of
educational change under the Hadow reorganisation scheme, the examination
formerly undertaken at age 8 was altered in January, 1934, to examination at age 7,
and that at age 12 to examination at age 11.
The routine groups to be examined thus became all children (i) on entrance to
school, (ii) at age 7 (corresponding to the transference from infants' to junior departments),
(iii) at age 11 (corresponding to the transference from junior to senior
departments), and (iv) before leaving school at approximately age 13½
As the sudden alteration from age 8 to age 7 would leave a group of children
unexamined between entrance and age 11, in which case this group would have suffered
unduly, it was decided that a " preliminary survey " should be made of the whole of
the 8-year-old group during which vision testing, examination of the teeth and noting
of any obvious defects would be carried out, while those children, who, during the
survey, were considered to need detailed examination, were to be submitted to a
complete examination in the usual way, after invitation to the parents to attend.
Only after the completion of the 8-year-old group in this manner was the detailed
examination of the new 7-year-old group to be begun. It was considered that the