Schools : eighth report from the Select Committee on Estimates together with the Minutes of Evidence taken before Sub-Committee E and Appendices, Session 1952-1953.

  • Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. Select Committee on Estimates
Date:
1953
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Schools : eighth report from the Select Committee on Estimates together with the Minutes of Evidence taken before Sub-Committee E and Appendices, Session 1952-1953. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    EEE EEE REE carried daily for lack of a secondary school on a new housing estate. The’ cost of a building to house these children would be about £130,000 and capital repay- ments, plus interest at 44 per cent., would amount to about £7,709 per annum for 30 years. The estimated expenditure on transport is £5,000 per annum and produces no permanent asset. This particular case has not arisen out of Circular 245, and indeed no instances of the effect of this part of that Circular can yet be quoted, since it was issued less than a year ago. ANNEX 3 THE SCHOOL BUILDING PROGRAMME IN SCOTLAND Memorandum by the Scottish Education Department 1. Grant-aided schools are provided in Scotland, in the main, by the 35 Education Authorities under the supervision of the Secretary of State, who exercises his functions through the Scottish Education Department. A small number of grant-aided schools and certain other educational buildings, such as central institutions for technical educa- tion, are provided by managers. Both the Education ‘Authorities and the managers receive through the [Department grant from the Education (Scotland) Fund. THE INVESTMENT PROGRAMME 2. In 1945 there was over Scotland as a whole an estimated shortage of 24,000 school places. The deficiency was not spread equally over the country and in some areas from which the population was shifting there were even surpluses of accommo- dation. Since 1945 the need for new school building has increased, because of the raising of the school leaving age, the movement of families into new housing areas, the high post-war birth rate, and the reduction in the size of classes prescribed in the Schools (Scotland) Code, 1950. About 41,000 of the 67,000 places required as a result of the raising of the school leaving age were provided under the hutting operation for the raising of the school age (the H.O.R.S.A. scheme) carried out by the Ministry of Works; about 22,000 places were found in existing schools where there was a surplus of accommodation or where by crowding up additional pupils could be accommodated; and about 3,500 places were provided in new schools built by education authorities. It is estimated that about 40 per cent. of the new houses provided in Scotland create a need for new school accommodation and that the new housing provided since the war has led to a need for about 84,000 places. Moreover, if the present plans for Hoe housing are carried out they will call Mon a further 114,000 places by the end of 1957. The increased demand for school places due to the high post-war birth rate will be only temporary and in many areas the need will be met either by using surplus places in existing schools or by the accommodation primarily provided to meet the need arising from new housing, but it is estimated that about 21,000 additional places will be required. Albout 4,000 places will be needed in order to get rid of oversize classes. The Schools (Scotland) Code, 1950, imposes new limits om the size of classes, the most important change being that the maximum size of a primary school class for normal] children should be 45 instead of 50.