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7
are awaiting the Board's approval in three, and are in preparation in five more.
In the remaining three cases, the accommodation and organisation are under consideration.
Amongst the schools of which preliminary plans have been approved by the
Board of Education is one in which the proposals have been the subject of much
interest, as they involve a departure from the standard planning adopted by the
Council and contain features which are new and have not hitherto been tried.
A proposal from the Council for Art and Industry that they should be allowed
to design and supervise the erection of a new Council school was approved as an
experiment and Mr. Oliver Hill, F.K.I.B.A., the architectural member of the Council
for Art and Industry, was appointed as the responsible architect for the rebuilding
of Lyndhurst-grove school.
The lay-out of the building is conditioned largely by the shape of the site,
which runs east and west and is of shallow depth, being bounded in the south by a
deep railway cutting. The school is to accommodate 798 children, and will occupy
two storeys and part of a third. A very important innovation is the abolition ol
staircases and their replacement by ramps, the gradient of which will be not more
than one in six. The north face of the long building will abut closely upon the
street and will be occupied entirely by corridors, ramps, lavatories, cloakrooms,
medical inspection rooms, etc. All classrooms, babies' rooms and rest rooms will
face south.
The playgrounds will all be on the south side. There will be an isolated babies'
section with two classrooms, 648 square feet each, with two rest rooms adjoining,
a medical inspection room with bath and waiting-room, etc. In addition to the
usual halls, classrooms, teachers' rooms, cloakrooms and store rooms, there will be
milk dispensaries and lifts, spray and foot baths, drying-rooms and covered playgrounds.
All classrooms will be placed at first-floor level so as to be relieved from noise
arising from the playground. In every case the south aspect of each classroom will
consist entirely of windows, of which portions will slide to give access to a continuous
balcony along the south side of the building, thus permitting of open-air work in
suitable weather.
The three years' programme provided for 21 schools to be reconditioned in
1935-36. All these have been completed, and considerable progress has been
effected in the case of 51 schools scheduled for reconditioning in 1936-37. In 26
of these the building work involved has been completed or practically completed.
Similar progress has been made with the schemes for the acquisition of playing
fields, for which purpose a sum of £40,000 was provided in each of the three years of
the programme.
Amongst the amenities which are being introduced under the new standard
planning in schools for older children are gymnasia completely equipped and provided
with changing rooms supplied with shower baths.
In elementary schools, also, washing troughs with spray taps are being introduced
in place of the old-fashioned basins. A question having arisen on the relative
advantages of the old and new type of installation, a conference was held with the
education officer. Of eighteen head teachers consulted, seventeen preferred troughs
and one preferred basins.
It was pointed out, however, that the sprays are liable to get out of order,
and that the troughs should have a more decided slope in order that the water
may more readily escape.
As a result of the conference it was decided that in new schools jets and troughs
should be the rule, manufacturers being asked to provide, if possible, chromium jets
to avoid the necessity of frequent polishing, the trough slope to be increased and a
jet introduced at the end for flushing.
In reconditioned schools, on the other hand, it was arranged that basins should
be continued for the present, and that in a year's time consideration should again
be given to the question in the light of further experience.
Washing
facilities.