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may be, and anything which might lead the parents of the children
at the Open-air School to suppose that they incur any risk from
infection by reason of the fact their children attend this school
will be detrimental to the interests of the Open-air School and of
education generally.
The fact that there is a waiting list for admission to the
Open-air School makes it, to my mind, unfortunate that a classroom
should have been taken for purposes other than official open-air
education.
In making this statement I am not unmindful of the fact
that there are other reasons which have urged you to take the
action you have taken.
This brings me naturally to the questions: " How many
places do you really want in any educational system for open-air
school education ? " " How many debilitated children are you
likely to meet who cannot obtain proper benefit from education
in an ordinary elementary school ? " " Have we nearly enough
places in Barking ? " The answer to these questions is that we
do not exactly know how many places are required; but I am
persuaded that the number of places is far beyond those we have
already built, although at the same time I must gratefully and
readily acknowledge you have more such places in Barking compared
with the size of your town than any other authority; that is, so far
as I know.
If we are going to have great gaunt school premises, halfway
between a factory and a prison on the one hand and a monastery
on the other, so far as architecture is concerned, then, of course,
we shall want a large number of places for open-air education.
•
(/) Residential Open-air Schools.—We have no residential openair
school as such, and I do think the time has come when something
should be done, at least during the summer months, to make
Faircross a residential school.