View report page

31
PHYSICAL EDUCATION IN SCHOOLS.
Organisation.
It is a pleasure to record a renewed vigour and enthusiasm for
all forms of physical activity in the schools during 1947. This is
in no small measure due to the influx of members of staff returned
from the Forces and the addition of young teachers trained under the
Emergency Training Scheme, particularly on the boys' side.
Nevertheless, in spite of this, there is still a serious lack of trained
specialist teachers in Physical Education. It is regarded as a
minimum requirement that there should be at least one fully
trained specialist teacher of Gymnastics, and one short-course
specialist teacher in every secondary school. Before the war this
establishment was almost general throughout the Borough in boys'
schools. The war destroyed the plan and it will not be possible to
regain that standard of staffing until the Physical Training Colleges
have been able to put several years of students into the profession.
Experimental work on the use of new apparatus in Physical
Education was begun in several infants' schools, with the installation
of sets of "Essex" Agility Apparatus. The two war-damaged
gymnasia, Down Lane and Crowland, have been repaired during the
year, and now all the Secondary Schools can work under the best
of conditions and develop their gymnastics along modern lines.
The Tottenham Schools Sports Association maintained its fine
record of enthusiastic work with the children in their out-of-school
games. Athletics, football, cricket, swimming, rounders, and
netball competitions were held, and despite the serious handicap of
lack of good playing space, a marked increase in skill and technique
was evident. Special mention should be made of the highly
successful Swimming Gala and Athletic Sports held during the
Summer Term, 1947. A special feature of the Sports was the visit
of 50 Danish boys and girls, who, as guests of the Association, gave
an excellent demonstration of the latest features of gymnastics and
rhythmic work in Danish Schools.
Equipment and Clothing.
During the year, types of apparatus which had been unobtainable
during the war came on the market again, though in many cases
these were not of pre-war quality. The new capitation grant for