Schools - of the Future
' Among the essential tasks that must be carried out under the aegis of the Local Education Authorities before the new Education Act can come fully into force is the provision of new buildings and the improvement of existing accommodation. What is done during the next few years will be irrevocable, and therefore it is of supreme importance that the standards laid down at the start for primary and secondary schools should be well considered. The draft regula- tions published last. Tuesday will have the force of law unless Parliament intervenes within six weeks. They have been framed with a view to securing the increased accommodation which will be needed when the school-leaving age is raised, and to set the higher standard which is implicit under the Act. Minimum areas are fixed for school sites, including playground space, and playing fields, and accommodation is prescribed for staff rooms, medical inspection, storage, and separate dining rooms ; nursery schools must have play-rooms ; and preicriptions are given for libraries, art and craft rooms, assembly halls and gymnasium in secondary schools. It is to be hoped that emphasis will be laid on the fact that the standards laid down are minima. The assumption that the size of classes will be reduced to a maximum of 4o in primary schools may be as far as we can go in the immediate future, but that is not good enough for a long-term programme—and it is under such a programme that new schools should be designed. The cost of new building and improvements will be high, but- it is a price that the country expects to pay for the adequate equipment of schools. It is in the light of these obligations that the voluntary schools will have to decide whether they can carry on. They will have to meet half the cost, and those which cannot will be taken over by the local authorities.
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