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102
applies to schools where the halls have been taken over as classrooms.
thus leaving no indoor accommodation for this type of
emergency which adversely affects the work of the school as a
whole. The return of the halls to normal use will be welcomed
and would be of great benefit to the schools.
Gymnastics
The freedom of the teacher to plan his lesson away from set
patterns and published syllabuses or schemes of work has produced
some interesting and stimulating results in gymnastics in Secondary
Schools.
In Girls' Secondary Schools, the tremendous growth of interest
in educational dance has again strongly influenced the type and the
presentation of indoor work. Girls continue to receive opportunities
and scope for experimenting and developing their own
activities, and the results observed during 1955 support the view
that movement training appeals to the adolescent girl, giving her a
feeling of confidence and achievement as well as grace and ease of
movement and a sense of poise.
On the Boys' side, gymnastics have remained the primary
means of physical education, but increased attention has been given
to some non-gymnastic activities popular in the boys' post-school
life. During the year under review, indoor work in boys' schools
has developed along two distinct lines, and opportunities have been
afforded to assess the relative merits of each : (1) General Schemes
in which individual lessons were devoted to developmental work
of a gymnastic nature, together with a number of separate skills
from various sports and games. (2) Blocked Schemes in which
one particular facet of physical education was allocated a number
of consecutive periods, the various branches of Physical Education
being given due attention throughout the academic year
In Boys' Secondary Schools ' circuit training' has been introduced
as a means of developing strength and of providing challenge
in older boys. It is hoped that this method of training will give a
new incentive to the less skilful performer, since it relates an
individual's performance to his physical ability.
Some experiments have been made in Secondary Schools during
1955 to allow a certain amount of choice of physical activity to
older boys and girls. In doing so. recognition has been given to
the wide range over which human physique can vary and to the
fact that successful performance in the different fields of physical
education is often closely related to physique. Where there is
adequate accommodation and sufficiently qualified physical education
staff, this development has proved most successful and appears
worthy of closer attention in the future.