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147
As mentioned in my previous Report the Council has decided
upon the provision of a rest shed. The plans have now received the
approval of the Board of Education, and tenders have been invited
for the erection of the building.
As regards the educational progress of the children attending
the Open Air School, the Head Teacher informs me that she has
carried out standardised educational tests (Northumberland) of
the children at six monthly intervals, and these continue to prove
their helpfulness in estimating the mental development of new
admissions and in testing progress made by the children whilst under
new school conditions.
The Head Teacher states : —"The results have been satisfactory.
The average yearly increase in mental age being 1 year 4
months in the year 1930: the subjects tested being arithmetic,
English, general intelligence and reading. All children are now
tested as they reach the age of eight years. Again it is to be
noticed that the increase in mental age is greatest in general
intelligence—this subject showing most quickly a return from
greater mental activity resultant from improved bodily condition.
It is interesting but not surprising to note that the increase in the
mental age in reading is most marked in the Junior Class where the
children are mastering the technicalities of reading.
" During the year 1930 the children have shown an increased
desire for individual development in fundamental subjects, and
there have been several outstanding cases of children making
marked improvement either generally or in one subject. One
interesting example is of a girl of ten who had attended school
intermittently and who had developed an inferiority complex over
her failure to read ; this girl learned to read in her first term."
The following is a Summary of the Report of the Head Teacher
of the Open Air School on the School Journey to Seaford in July :—
The School Journey was made to Seaford from June 27th to July
10th. The party included 15 girls and 16 boys. They were well
accommodated in a three-storey house, the girls in two dormitories on
the ground floor and two dormitories on the top floor, whilst the boys