asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education how many local education authorities in Wales provide a school medical service for children attending secondary and intermediate schools; whether he will give the names of the authorities who do not provide such a service; and whether he will take steps to secure that a service is established in those areas?

With the exception of Carmarthenshire all local education authorities for higher education in Wales make some arrangements for the provision of a school medical service for children attending secondary and intermediate schools. The Board wrote to the Carmarthenshire authority on this subject in January last and again in October and their reply is at present under consideration. The Board have made it clear to the authority that they take a serious view of their failure to comply with their statutory duty of providing for the medical inspection of pupils attending secondary and intermediate schools in the county.

If this authority still refuses to act on the instructions of the Board, will the hon. Gentleman take the fullest possible action against it?

We shall continue to exercise pressure.

Does not the hon. Gentleman think that it would be better policy to have open-air nursery schools, so as to prevent these children needing medical attention?

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether the curriculum prepared by the Central Welsh Board for the school certificate and matriculation is comparable to the standard set by other examining bodies; and whether he has received any representations to the effect that the Central Welsh Board curriculum is too heavy and the standard too high?

The one complaint received by the Board related to an alleged high standard in the mathematical papers set by the Central Welsh Board. The hon. Member is, no doubt, aware that one of the functions of the Secondary School Examinations Council is to maintain broadly equivalent standards between the various examining bodies. The Report of the Investigators into the School Certificate, issued in 1932, disclosed no appreciable disparity in standards between the Central Welsh Board and other bodies; and I am advised that the current syllabuses are no more exacting in the case of this particular examining body than elsewhere.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether, in view of the fact that two of the most important examining bodies conducting secondary school examinations, namely, London University and the Oxford and Cambridge Universities Joint Board, have demurred to accepting for adoption in 1939 the proposals contained in Circular 1463 for the alteration of the school certificate examination; and, in view of the fact that the circular, dated 18th July, 1938, could not receive consideration by the universities until the present term, commencing in October, he will postpone the operation of the new regulations for a year, to allow of a proper investigation by the examining bodies of the probable results of the proposed changes?

The official letter to examining bodies, which was afterwards reproduced as Circular 1463, was issued on 2nd July last. No reference was made in that letter to any date by which the revised conditions for the School Certificate were to be adopted. In accordance with a recommendation from the Secondary School Examinations Council the Board will not require the new conditions to be adopted before 1940, but examining bodies are, of course, at liberty to adopt them before that year.

Is my hon. Friend aware that arrangements are being made to conduct some of these examinations in 1939?

I said that there is no compulsion to adopt these changes at the moment.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education (1) whether he will state precisely the grounds upon which the university examining bodies opposed his request for an alteration of the dates of school examinations to assist the spread-over of holidays;

(2) whether he is prepared to recommend the partial withholding of grants from those educational authorities who refuse to co-operate with the Government in its policy of spread-over of annual holidays with pay by making the appropriate adjustments in the dates of their examinations;

(3) whether, in view of the attitude taken up by the university examining bodies on the question of altering the dates of their certificate examinations to suit the requirements of the spread-over of holidays with pay, he will consider the setting up of a special examining body to deal with school certificate examinations throughout the country?

My hon. Friend is under a misapprehension. Except in the case of one examining body, there has been no refusal to alter the date of the certificate examinations in 1940, though in some cases it was represented that the change would lead to financial and administrative difficulties. There is, however, evidence that a large majority of the schools were opposed to the date suggested; out of 530 schools in different parts of the country who were questioned, no fewer than 463 were against the proposal. My Noble Friend decided, for the reasons already given, not to press for any change in 1940, and in these circumstances no special measures of the kind suggested by my hon. Friend are called for. As already stated in the reply which I gave to my hon. Friend on 17th November last, the question of possible changes in the date of the examinations subsequent to 1940 will need to be considered later in the light of experience.

Will my hon. Friend tell the university authorities that the change over involved in every important reform causes temporary difficulties, and will he ask them to reconsider the matter in the light of public need?

The only real change will be if these examinations are put off until the autumn. I would call the attention of my hon. Friend to the fact that this would be a very considerable change affecting not only the universities, secondary schools, and so on, in this country, but all over the world.

Can my hon. Friend suggest any plan to prevent the universities sabotaging important plans which he himself has announced in this House?

I cannot accept the assumption that they are sabotaging the arrangement. An advance has been made in allowing children at any time during the term to go away for one week and for it to be counted as attendance.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether the National Fitness Council has now arranged with the British Broadcasting Corporation physical fitness broadcasts in the early morning?

My Noble Friend regrets that it has not been found possible to arrange for such broadcasts.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that certain foreign commercial broadcasting stations have for a considerable time been giving early morning physical broadcasts without expense to the taxpayer, and does he not think that the British Broadcasting Corporation might do the same in view of the receipt of millions of money from the British taxpayer?

All I can say is that the negotiations broke down on the question of finance. The extra cost of providing such a service on a permanent basis would have entailed a substantial liability, and the British Broadcasting Corporation were unable to agree with the view that this liability should be met from their resources without fresh assistance from public funds. Although the extent of the demand is conjectural, I, personally, regret the decision.

In view of the Government's national fitness campaign, would it not be possible for the Government to implement the financial cost?

Will the hon. Gentleman bear in mind that industrial workers get up much earlier than the B.B.C.?

In view of the great success of the foreign experiment, will the Minister take the matter up again with the B.B.C. and press them that at least an experiment should be made?

In view of the expression of the feeling by hon. Members I will look into the matter again.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education the cost of the recently erected senior school at Stratton in the county of Wiltshire; and for how many pupils was provision made?

The estimated cost of the Upper Stratton Senior Council School was approximately £19,200, including £978 for furniture and equipment. It provided accommodation for 360 children.

Is the Parliamentary Secretary aware that the number of pupils estimated for is far short of that number? Could steps be taken to see that a similar waste of taxpayer's money does not occur in other parts of the country?

I think there was a genuine over-estimate of the growth of the school population in that area. It is not always possible to estimate it exactly. As a matter of fact, if children are brought in from the neighbouring areas, the school will be completely filled.

Is my hon. Friend aware that there is a growing feeling in the country that estimates for additional schools are very much higher than are needed and accommodation is provided for considerably more children than will be forthcoming?

Is it not a fact that in filling these schools, which are very expensive, other schools are being emptied, and that it is as important that these should be kept going as to have new schools?

This is a very large question, but I am not aware from my own experience that the two suggestions made by my hon. Friends have any real foundation. In most cases the closing up of small schools has finally resulted in economy. Schools with a very small number of children are often more expensive, quite apart from the great advantage which comes about from reorganisation.