REPORTS OF HIS MAJESTY'S GENERAL REPORT for the year 1901 by T. A. STEWART, ESQ., M.A., MY LORDS, I have the honour to present a report on the schools in the Southern Division of Scotland. The following changes in the staff may be noted.-Mr. Whyte, after a prolonged and weary illness borne with great fortitude, died in February. The Department never had a more loyal, enthusiastic, and willing officer. Mr. J. C. Smith has recently been appointed to the charge of Perthshire, and is to receive assistance from Mr. W. S. Gall, who has been promoted to a Sub-Inspectorship of the first-class. Mr. Gall is also to give help in Fife. Mr. J. Crombie has also received well deserved promotion, which does not mean, in his case, that I am be deprived of his excellent services. My staff has been strengthened by the appointment of Mr. G. Andrew, Junior Inspector, and of Mr. F. W. Michie, Junior Inspector (Science and Art). Mr. J. M. Wilson is now in a position to give a much larger share of his time to Dr. Macnair for Art work. Mr. W. H. Bell, Sub-Inspector, has been transferred from Glasgow. These changes will enable me to devote more time to conferences, joint inspections with my colleagues, and visits to the various Training Colleges. Mr. Waddell's district has been added to the Southern Division, while Mr. Jamieson's has been annexed to the Western Division. In the circular letter sent to my colleagues requesting them to favour me with the annual reports on their various districts, I suggested that a short excursus on some educational point, either theoretical or practical, might be of value and interest. I have not received any special contribution of this nature, but once or twice a desire has been expressed that a portion of the report which is regarded as of special importance might be given in extenso. This I propose to do. SCHOOL SUPPLY. The accommodation in the southern division is very fairly abreast Supply fairly of the requirements. Several new schools have been erected, many sufficient of the premises have been greatly improved, and an honourable effort has been made by School Boards and managers to provide the space, furniture, and apparatus necessary for the due development of the modern methods. They must not forget too, especially in the larger centres, that a new responsibility is placed on them for the first time this year, in the way of providing room and teaching power for the children till the age of fourteen is reached. 5593, YY 2 Edinburgh A satisfactory record Mr. Arnot, clerk to the Edinburgh School Board, has kindly favoured me with the following statement : As anticipated by the Board, the two new schools-Flora Stevenson and Parsons Green-and the additions to North Canongate and Bristo Schools, were opened at the beginning of the present session, and the accommodation of the Board's district has thereby been increased by 3,739 permanent places, made up as follows: "In consequence of this increase, Young Street and Willowbrae Schools have been closed, and the annexes to Abbeyhill, Bristo, London Street, Regent Road, and Stockbridge Schools have been discontinued. As already intimated, the Board have resolved to erect a large addition within the existing ground forming the site of Broughton School, with a view chiefly to providing suitable and sufficient accommodation for the Higher Grade department. The class-rooms now used in connection with the said department will be altered where necessary for the ordinary school requirements. The site of this school is by far the largest belonging to the Board, being 7,862 square yards, or about 1,500 square yards larger than any other site. "I have already intimated the action taken by the Board for the enlargement of Leith Walk School by the proposed purchase of the Girls' Industrial School adjoining. "In my former letter reference was made to Craiglockhart School in the Merchiston district. This school is now being erected, and is expected to be ready for occupation at the beginning of next session. It will provide accommodation for 1,671 pupils, and will, when completed, relieve to a great extent the pressure felt in the districts of Gorgie and North Merchiston Schools. To relieve further the pressure in the south-west of the city, but more particularly in the vicinity of Bruntsfield School, the Board are taking steps to secure a site for the erection of a school chiefly for the purpose of providing accommodation for the Higher Grade department at present carried on in the said school. In the meantime the Board propose to secure a temporary annexe to this school, and are at present endeavouring to obtain the use of the hall attached to St. Oswald's Church immediately adjoining the school. At a recent meeting of the Board a remit was made to a special Committee to consider and report on the necessity of providing additional accommodation in other parts of the city." This is a very much more satisfactory record than that of the year before. I would congratulate the School Board on their energy and vigour, and on the manner in which they have grappled with a very serious problem. But their task appears to be as unending as the labour of Sisyphus. It is a great matter to learn that the annexes have disappeared in the meantime, although a temporary recrudescence is threatened in the case of the Bruntsfield Higher Grade School, the very remarkable success of which has rendered it imperative to provide additional accommodation. Now that the School Board have brought school supply fairly well up to date, it is to be hoped that they will not take their hands from the plough till there are places for all school children of school age. These places should be provided in advance, especially in view of the fact that the age of exemption has been raised to fourteen. The rapid filling up of the Flora Stevenson and Parsons Green Schools, recently opened, reveals the fact that there is an abundant supply of children who are ready to go to school, when space is provided for them, but from the late age (nine, ten, eleven, and even twelve) of some of the entrants who had to be placed in the infant class room, I fear that they had never been at any school before. Have the efforts of the compulsory officers been defeated through lack of accommodation? From the returns of the School Board for the past year it appears that there were 567 scholars on the registers of infant departments in their schools who were over nine years of age. Of this number An unsatiseighty-three were ten; nineteen, eleven; six, twelve; and two, thirteen factory years old. record as regards the On the registers of junior departments (with attainments not beyond children's those of the third standard) there were no fewer than 854 scholars age. over twelve years of age; 289 of these were thirteen, and 23 fourteen years old. This is a very unsatisfactory state of matters. The Rev. Manager of Glen Street Roman Catholic School, reverting to former plans, is enlarging his school to hold 160 additional pupils. Plans were shown to me for the enlargement of St. Cuthbert's Roman Catholic School. The population in the neighbourhood has increased by leaps and bounds. Excel In the Edinburgh Church of Scotland Practising School a large room on the basement has been refitted, and is now used for drawing. lent lavatories have been erected outside the school buildings. A new class-room for the advanced department of the Edinburgh Episcopal Practising School is in course of construction. Numerous minor improvements in the way of partitions and better desk supply have been carried out at Edinburgh All Saints' Episcopal, Abbeyhill Episcopal, St. Andrew's Episcopal, St. James's Episcopal, and the Episcopal Practising Schools. New Greyfriars' Sessional School has been discontinued. Commodious and extensive buildings in which the Academy will be Improvehoused are in process of erection at Linlithgow, ments in of district. At Bo'ness it was resolved to build a new academy, but delay has other parts occurred owing to difference of opinion as to the status of a neighbouring school. Two excellent new rooms and a spacious corridor have been added to Bo'ness P. School. The offices have been modernised and are now in a satisfactory condition. At Greenhills the new school building is progressing rapidly. A large extension is in progress at Torphichen Blackridge P. School, and several improvements in furnishing and equipment have been made at Linlithgow P., Woodend P., and Ratho Infant Public Schools. Mr. Barrie, writing on school supply, reports : "During the year commodious additions have been made to Portobello East MidBurgh Public and North Berwick Public Schools, and the accommodation Lothian and in Penicuik Howgate Public School has been materially improved. Large Haddington. additions are approaching completion at Musselburgh Newbigging Public and Musselburgh Grammar Public Schools, and new schools are to be built at Dalkeith and Inveresk." Dr. Dunn reports :— "In Burntisland a handsome new school has been erected with all modern Fife. adjuncts and appliances of the best type; and in this school the teaching of The Border counties. Dumfries and Kirkcudbright. science is to receive special attention. At East Wemyss, Methil, and Kettle new schools have been built. Additional accommodation on an extended scale has been provided at Lassodie, Cowdenbeath, Foulford, Lumphinnan, Kelty, Dysart, Pathhead, and Lochgelly. The school at Torryburn has been practically reconstructed. The Dunfermline School Board, with characteristic energy and public spirit, have erected a large school, which will shortly be opened, and are in process of reconstructing the Pittencrieff School. The operation of the Act which will come into effect on January 1st, will no doubt demand in many places the enlargement of school premises; and, from what I know of the spirit of the School Boards in Fife, they will loyally respond to their obligations." Mr. King reports : There has been considerable activity in the Border District during the past year. With the opening of the new school buildings at Yetholm and Peebles, which have been remarkably well planned and equipped, school supply in the larger centres may now be regarded as fully adequate to the requirements, so far as elementary education is concerned. For Secondary Education a new department is being built at Jedburgh, and it is said that Hawick has decided to find a new site for Teviot Grove Academy. "Small side schools are required, and will soon be provided, in the parish of Cockburnspath in Westruther to take the place of Lady John Scott's School at Spottiswoode, and in the Meggat district of Yarrow. "The tendency is, in these very sparsely populated districts, rather to provide schools and teachers which can earn the full grants, than to have schools under Art. 19 D (a). When it is considered that the £15 distance grant, plus the saving of the expense incurred in bringing the children yearly to the nearest centre to be examined, will go far to pay the interest on the loan for a new school building and teacher's house of modest proportions, and, further, that a teacher qualified under Arts. 79 and 60 is not difficult to find, one need not wonder that Boards should prefer to have a school of the ordinary type, even for a very small number of children." Mr. Jamieson reports : "As the population of Dumfries and Kirkcudbright has decreased since 1872, and as the increase of school accommodation has been continuous, if slow, during these thirty years, the school supply for the two counties, taken as a whole, is not now insufficient. But the shifting of population and the greater number of years during which children now remain at school constantly call for an increased number of school places in parishes where the population has grown, or has even remained stationary. Difficulties "The managers of several large schools have had to face a serious of Managers. difficulty during the past few years in providing places for the great increase in the numbers in the higher elementary classes. Schools which, say, four years ago seemed likely, according to all past experience, to contain sufficient accommodation for many years to come are now found to be too small. Under the operation of the recent School Attendance Act this difficulty is likely to be still more seriously felt during the next two or three Additional provision made in the district during the year, years. Since last report was written handsome and costly infant departments have been added to Annan Public School and to Sanquhar Public School. The schools at Carronbridge, Kirkconnel, New Abbey, Steilston, Tundergarth, and Glenlochar have been enlarged. Extensive improvements have been made on Loreburn Street Public School, Dumfries, and on CorSock Public School. "Laboratories for physics and chemistry have been erected at Moffat and Annan Academies.' |