The last-named class assembles on Saturday afternoon each week at the Central School of Art, and was establshed for the purpose of affording instruction to teachers on a day, and at an hour on which they could conveniently attend. The fee is 10s. per session or half-year, payable in advance. There is, however, some doubt whether the small number of teachers availing themselves of its privileges will justify its being continued, as the work of instruction is an extra labour, which it is only just the master undertaking it should be remunerated for, and this cannot be done without an increase in the rate of fees or in numbers attending. The result of the experiment in these classes, so far as the question of instruction goes has been very satisfactory to the head-master of the School of Art, as the acting officer of the Board of Trade Department of Science and Art, as also to the authorities at Marlborough House, but it must be evident that to effect any permanent extension of the influence of art upon the people, the facilities for instruction must be more extensively used than they have been by those for whose benefit they have been devised; as out of nine schools under inspection in Birmingham, only five appear to have availed themselves of the opportunity for obtaining sound elementary instruction in drawing at the fee charged, viz. 57. per annum, and thus the numbers in the Parochial schools, &c. instead of being at least equal to, are less than one half of those attending the School of Art, central and branch classes. It is to be feared, however, that the charge, small as it is, creates a difficulty with some of the poorer class of schools; the class in fact to which, practically, the instruction in a manufacturing district like Birmingham is of most value, for with numerous demands upon their funds for the promotion of many special points in education which, appear to be, and in fact are, of more immediate importance than that of elementary drawing, the expenditure of 51. for the latter purpose is considered as beyond their means, and in two or three instances of those quoted as having availed themselves of the privilege, the fee has been paid from the private purse of individual members of the respective Committees. (Signed) GEORGE WALLIS. If the 51. fee prevents schools in manufacturing districts availing themselves of the services of a special teacher of drawing, how much more is this likely to influence schools in districts where the special requirements of manufactures do not exist! Mr. Bellairs will probably be enabled to work this point out to his own satisfaction. I can confirm all that Mr. Wallis has said above as to the pecuniary difficulty connected with this branch of instruction. FIFTY EXTRACTS from the Admission and Attendance Registers of St. Stephen's Boys' School, Newton Row, Birmingham. BIRMINGHAM, ST. MARY'S, BOYS' SCHOOL. I was appointed to this school in July 1851. I have selected 171 out of the number of boys entered and left from that date to August 1854. I have taken the longest, the medium, and the shortest period of continuance in the school. The result is as follows, from which it will be seen that the average time of each of the above 171 in the school during that period, has been about eight months. There is no boy in the school now who was here when I was appointed in July 1851. This Table shows the length of time each boy, of 171, was in school. The average time of 171 boys 118 years, 1 month, 3 weeks, ÷171-8 months, 1 week, 1 day. According to this Table, the average time of each boy in the above school is about 8 months. (Signed) J. J. SIMMONDS. APPENDIX F. SUMMARIES OF TABULATED REPORTS, FOR 1853-4, ON SCHOOLS INSPECTED BY REV. H. W. BELLAIRS AND REV. J. W. D. HERNAMAN. 32.3 14 02 13 97 13 12 10 35 7.18 4.79 2.73 1.54 3.54 3.89 7.46 12.88 38.08 The amount of accommodation in square feet, divided by 8, will give the number of children who can be properly accommodated. Calculations of area in school-rooms, as compared with the average attendance of scholars, should be made upon this basis. At the date of closing this return. These per-centages are confined to boys' and girls' schools, and do not include infants. |