Abstract
THE transference of schools from 'vulnerable' to 'safe' areas in Britain, where they now work in conjunction with other schools of the same type, was a necessary part of the scheme adopted at the outset of the War to minimize loss of life in the event of air attacks upon the civil population. Since last September, normal educational work has therefore not been possible for a very large number of secondary school pupils, and whatever gain there may have been for those from towns coming into closer contact with Nature, it is perhaps offset by reduced teaching and laboratory facilities. Even the better equipped of secondary schools cannot be expected to accommodate double the usual number of science classes, and though in many instances the amount of time devoted to science subjects has not been seriously curtailed, the work is often done in unfavourable circumstances, especially as regards the senior work. It is difficult to accommodate all the senior students in the small advanced laboratories found in most secondary schools even when a system of 'double shifts' is arranged, so that practical work has suffered more than theoretical teaching. The standard of proficiency of pupils who will leave school this year to continue at the universities will be examined with much interest. That the experiment of evacuating schools was a wise one, despite the dislocation involved, there can be no doubt, and the authorities are doubtless watching its consequences so far as secondary and higher education is concerned.
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Evacuation and Science Work in Schools. Nature 145, 255 (1940). https://doi.org/10.1038/145255a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/145255a0