* Exclusive of grants from the Committee of Council on Education. † In this column, grants to teachers alone are taken into account.

between

and country

school fees,

of their

more self

By the help of these tables we may easily ascertain the Comparison comparative expensiveness of these four classes of schools. town schools Subtracting the average amount of income derived from the schools, in children's payments from the average expenditure, we have a respect of remainder which represents the sum required to be raised in and prospect the way of voluntary subscriptions or otherwise. Thus it becoming appears that, for the class of schools which have not taken supporting. advantage of the Minutes of 1846, subscriptions to the amount of 18s. 6d. per head in the country, and of 98. 9d. in manufacturing districts, have to be raised to defray the school expenses; while for schools which have taken advantage of the Minutes of 1846 subscriptions to the amount of 168. 3d. per head in the country, and of 58. 8d. in manufacturing districts, are sufficient. In other words, it is evident that, irrespectively of any annual grant, a school which has been raised to the standard of efficiency required by the Minutes of 1846, is less expensive than the school which has not been so improved. When the Government grants are taken into account, the contrast is still more striking. For, whereas, the latter class of schools have nothing but the children's pence to add to the subscriptions, in the former class, to meet a smaller amount of subscription, there is, in addition to the children's payments, an annual grant of 8s. or 108. per head from the Government. The explanation of this very satisfactory result of the comparison of these two classes of schools is to be sought, I believe, in the two following facts:

1. A trained and certificated teacher, with a prospect of receiving 207. or 301. per annum from Government, will not require a much higher local salary than an inferior teacher would expect without such additional grants.

2. Experience proves that the better the school is, the more cheerfully will the parents pay, especially when they find their children taught by pupil-teachers instead of the little monitors, whom they always dislike. Moreover, the superior teacher generally attracts to the school some few children from a class that can afford to pay a higher rate of fee; and thus, in both ways, the annual-grant school becomes more self-supporting. The measure in which schools may hope to become self-supporting varies, of course, not only with their efficiency, but also with their locality and size.

Of the schools inspected by my colleague, the Rev. H. R. Sandford, and by myself, during the past year (340), one-half have now raised the school fee for some portion of their scholars to 3d. or more, per week. And out of 275 schools of whose income I have detailed returns, I find that in fifty-five cases the children's payments constitute more than half of the income; and in three cases the schools are self-supporting.

Country schools

much more

expensive than town schools.

Reasons of this.

I was hardly prepared to find the almost uniform contrast between the town schools and country schools in this respect. Of these fifty-five schools, fifty-two were situated in mining or manufacturing districts; and from the latter of the two tables given above, it appears that in the twenty town schools the children contribute two thirds of the income, while in the twenty country schools their payments only amount to one third. Thus it would appear that the towns have no fair reason to complain of the additional measure of relief, in the form of capitation grants, being confined to country schools. For from the tables given above, it may be seen that while a rural district, with a school of 95 children, has to subscribe 771. per annum for its maintenance, a town district, with a school of 225 children, need only subscribe 647. The difference would barely be covered by the capitation grant, even if the country school could claim it on account of half its children.

The difference between the expense per child of a town school, and the expense per child of a country school, in favour of the former, is at once explained by the town school being on an average more than twice the size of the country school; for the same staff of teachers is often wanted for a small school that would well suffice for a larger school. The difference in the average annual amount of each child's school fees cannot of course be so explained, but may be understood, I think, very clearly by reference to the subjoined table, in which I have analyzed the rates of payment in the twenty town schools, and in the twenty country schools respectively.

From these figures we see that in the town schools the mass of the children pay the middle fees (2d. 3d. and 4d.) whereas in the country schools, though there are more paying the highest fees, the majority pay a much lower fee. This is what would be naturally expected from the composition of the population in the town and in the country respectively. In the former we have a large middle class of small shopkeepers and artisans sending their children, while in the latter we have a number of labourers with a few tenant farmers, perhaps, who have the good sense to find out that their children receive a better education in the Church school for 6d. a week, or 68. a quarter, than they would obtain in the commercial academy for a much larger sum. Another inference may, I think, be

drawn from this last table, which experience would confirm. Striking an average, we find that the mean rate of fee for the town schools would be 23d. a week, and for the country schools 24d. Referring to the former tables, it appears that the average amount paid by each child in the year is 9s. 10d. in the former, and 78. 11d. in the latter. Hence we may see that the children pay on an average for forty-three weeks in the year in the town schools, and for only thirty-eight weeks in the country schools. From which it would appear that country schools need not only the relief, but also the stimulus to greater regularity of attendance, afforded by the capitation grant, in a greater degree than town schools. My chief purpose in instituting this inquiry into the expenditure and income of the better class of schools under my inspection has been to convince school managers that, by engaging certificated teachers, and so qualifying their schools to receive annual grants from the Government, they do not increase their pecuniary liability, but rather diminish it. If this were generally understood, I feel sure that many of the schools, which are still being carried on upon the old monitorial method, would be at once re-organized upon the improved system.

schools were

annual-grant

great diffi

children

main.

But even supposing all the schools in the district were Even if all raised to this standard-a very distant prospect-the work of to become education would be only half accomplished. Of the 15 per schools, cent., whom I have reported to be attending annual-grant Enty of reschools under my inspection, how few remain long enough to taining profit by the means of education there offered to them! By would rereferring to the summary of the ages of the children appended to this report, it will be seen that after the completion of their ninth year they begin to leave; of the 14 or 15 per cent. who are found at school of this age, some will fall off in each succeeding year, and not more than two or three will continue to attend until they are thirteen. I believe I was rather above than below the mark when I said, at the close of my last report, that, out of every hundred children in my district, not more than six or seven were really profiting by the improved education introduced by your Lordships' measures. It cannot be too often repeated that the great difficulty now is, not so much to provide good schools, as to persuade the people to take advantage of them when established. Until some further legislation, upon the principle of the Factory Acts, shall protect young children from the unnatural demands made upon their immature strength by the need or cupidity of their parents, and by the imperious requirements of industrial competition, all that can be done to meet the evil

Evening schools.

is to supply them with opportunities of further schooling in the intervals of employment

It is with this view that evening schools have been established in several parts of my district. In my report on the Staffordshire Prize-Schemes, which appeared in the Minutes of the Committee of Council last year, will be found (Vol. I., p. 408) some account of the Messrs. Bagnall's evening school at Capponfield. Notices of Messrs. Chance's evening schools are included in my tabulated reports. I regret that I have been unable to visit the evening school carried on in connexion with the National school at Much Wenlock. The vicar (the Rev. W. H. Wayne) reports very favourably of its progress. I have also satisfactory reports of evening schools at Macclesfield, St. Paul's, and at Willenhall, Trinity. For the following reports of some other night schools in the district, I am indebted to the kindness of my colleague, Mr. Sandford :-

Runcorn, Holy Trinity, 6 December 1853. I visited a small night school held in the boys' school-room here, where about fifteen lads and men were being instructed by the Sunday-school teachers. The school seemed to be conducted on no particular system. Many of the scholars seemed anxious to learn.

Coseley, 20 March 1854.

There is a school here in connexion with Messrs. Bagnall's works, close to the furnaces, which is used for the purpose of Sunday and weekly prayers for the workmen, and in which a night school also is held three or four days in the week. I was invited to visit the school, and found about thirty lads from the collieries and works adjoining, under the charge of a young master (formerly a pupil-teacher in Coseley National School). The school was not organized on any regular plan, nor conducted with much method. Many, however, of the boys employed about the furnaces seemed to have profited from the pains taken with them, and were pursuing their tasks with the zeal generally displayed by boys who have so much lost ground to recover. Those employed in the pits seemed to have been rendered incapable, through bodily fatigue, of much mental effort.

The clergyman, who acts as chaplain to the Messrs. Bagnall here, complained much of their ignorance, and was contemplating a plan for getting them to school on the days when the colliers usually play in these parts (the second and perhaps third day in the week). Many of the more intelligent of them took part in a simple choral service which was held in the school chapel twice a week (about twenty of the boys, from thirteen to sixteen years of age).

Bridgnorth, St. Mary's, 18 May 1854. I was invited to visit a night school in connexion with the above, where a large number of girls and young women, employed in the factories of the town (in carpet weaving), were being taught by the clergy and some ladies of the parish, the master of the day school assisting occasionally. Great difficulties had been overcome in getting the school into fair order. Many of the scholars, grown-up young women, seemed most assiduous in their efforts to learn, and the first class had attained considerable scriptural knowledge. Many of the girls showed quickness, and a readiness which the experience of life perhaps had given them, but seemed to want reflection, and the power of concentrating their attention on any subject.