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enlarged glands, 1; skin disease, 17; fracture, 1; rheumatism, 1; raised temperature,
5; dental trouble, 3; infectious disease, 2; other conditions, 6. Several
children were provisionally rejected on grounds connected with personal hygiene,
but were subsequently passed after visiting a bathing centre.
Physical education
The next report of the organisers of physical education will not be available
until September, 1938, but the following brief resume of the activities and developments
of the past twelve months has been kindly supplied by Mr. A. H. Gem and
Miss Grant Clark:—
The year 1937 is one which will stand as a landmark in the world of physical education.
The publication by the Board of Education of circulars 1445 and 1450, the pioneer work of the
Central Council of Recreative Physical Training, and the establishment of the National Fitness
Council have all focussed attention very closely on present problems and future developments.
In this short review it is proposed to consider only the issues raised in the two publications already
referred to, and to touch briefly on the contribution which the Council can make towards the
National Fitness Campaign.
While already progress has been made in infant, junior and unreorganised schools, attention
has largely been concentrated on the reorganisation of the work in the senior departments. In
the past the training in these departments has, in the main, been confined to free standing exercises,
agilities, activities and games, but during the past year a start has been made on the introduction
of a range of work which necessitates the use of portable apparatus.
The standard of equipment for each department will be: 6 gymnastic bcnches, 4 stools,
1 vaulting box, 1 vaulting buck and/or vaulting horse, 1 beating board, 4 gymnastic mats,
1 pair jumping stands and rope, and 10 climbing ropes.
The introduction of this apparatus must of necessity be gradual, as it is necessary to ensure
that the training of teachers skilled in this work keeps pace with the issue of the equipment.
With this end in view a series of special six-week half-time courses has been established at the
Council's College of Physical Education, and at these courses selected teachers, who show an
aptitude for this branch of work, will be trained. It is anticipated that this reorganisation
will be completed in 1940—41.
Given suitably trained teachers and an adequate supply of apparatus, there still remains
the problem of providing suitable accommodation for this work. In recent times considerable
progress has been made with the improvement of facilities. New senior schools have been built,
and in each case a gymnasium has been provided, together with changing rooms fitted with
shower baths and drying space.
But the London problem can never be dealt with by the provision of new schools. Old
schools abound and for many years to come (probably for several generations) these buildings
will be used. Owing to the fall in the child population and the consequent surplus school accommodation,
an extensive programme of reconditioning has been introduced, and by this means improved
facilities can be obtained for many schools, which include changing rooms and shower
baths and the adaptation of the school hall as a gymnasium.
Much of the benefit which should be derived from physical training is inevitably lost unless
the students change into suitable costume and wear rubber-soled shoes, and negotiations are
taking place with the Board of Education as to the grant payable for expenditure in this connection
which the Council may be required to incur. It is hoped that an early agreement may be
reached, as there can be little doubt that the progress of the work is being retarded owing to the
lack of suitable clothing and footwear.
It is probable that the wholesale adoption of the principle of a daily period of organised
physical activity may never be achieved. Limitations imposed by playgrounds and buildings
and the lack of suitable staff will in a few cases inevitably limit the amount of time which can
profitably be devoted to physical education. In the main, however, children do now enjoy a
daily period of physical activity and the position in this respect has improved considerably in
recent years.
The difficulty of providing adequate facilities for playing games under conditions suitable
for children in congested areas led the Council to adopt the scheme of sending groups of children
for a whole day to fields equipped with playing pitches and classroom accommodation. The
first site of this type was opened in 1931, and since then the scheme has grown until now there
are eight sites in use with a total of 31 classrooms, allowing for a weekly attendance of some
0,000 children. The experience gained on the early fields has resulted in successive improvements
and will be invaluable in showing what will be required for the large new areas which the Council
has acquired, and intends to go on acquiring, until it has sufficient space for every child over ten
years of age to have a game on a playing field one day a week.
The past year has shown a marked increase in the provision of suitable facilities for physical
education in secondary and technical schools. New gymnasia, changing rooms and shower
baths have either been scheduled or actually completed, while a considerable expansion of playingfields
has taken place. Among the more interesting of the new developments is the provision
Elementary
education
Playing-fields
with
classroom
accommodation
Secondary
and technical
schools