CENTRAL SCHOOLS. The central school in England is a development of the primary school. It is the successor of the higher standard, higher grade and higher elementary schools, all of them being, like the central school, growths at the top of the elementary school. It differs from them, however, in that : (1) it is selective, (2) an entrance age of I years is commonly used, (3) the curriculum, less academic than that of a secondary school, commonly has a "bias," technical or commercial. At present it is mainly confined to the towns.
Experiments in the way of selective transfer were made in Manchester, but the definite establishment of the central school dates from the London scheme, drafted in 1910, and begun in 1911. The new schools gained from the beginning a high reputa tion for efficiency. Their essential features are : (I) Entrance is at the age of II-12 years (11-}-), from the surrounding elementary schools, the "contributory schools," (2) the course is planned for four years, (3) each school is either technical or commercial, or, in the case of large schools, technical and commercial (at first, the word "industrial" was used, but this was changed to "technical" in 1927), (4) entrance is based upon (a) recommendations of head teachers and inspectors, (b) success in intra-school examinations, (c) relative success in the London junior county scholarship exam inations. These last-mentioned examinations have for their chief object the distribution of scholarships to secondary schools. The "next best" are selected for the central schools.
The success of the London experiment has been due in the main to two facts: (I) That the London elementary education service, by virtue of its great size and its relatively high scale of salaries, contains a large number of extremely capable teachers, head and assistant. (2) The scheme was carefully prepared in detail before it was put in action ; and the appointment of the staffs of the new schools, assistants as well as heads, was made with considerable care. The teaching of the staffs of these schools has stood at a remarkably high level since their formation.
The curriculum in a commercial central school includes 4 hours a week French (or German) for the whole course, I2 hours short hand (for the third and fourth years), 1 hour or more bookkeep ing, in the third and fourth years, 3 to 5 hours typewriting, for the fourth or third and fourth years (optional, and out of school hours), 2 hours experimental (laboratory) science, 2 hours art, one half-day handicraft for the first and second years (boys) , or domestic economy for the first, second and third years (girls) . On the technical side, I o to 12 hours a week are given to practical work throughout the course. In the case of boys, this consists of "science (including mensuration), drawing, clay modelling, wood and metal-work," leather work, printing, tile-making, bookbinding, and so forth. In the case of girls, it is described as consisting of "elementary science, domestic economy, drawing, practical hand work, or other approved subjects." If a foreign language is taken in a technical central school, a minimum of 3 hours a week must be given to it. In the case of London central schools with a double bias, it was decided in 1927 to make the course of studies a common one for the first two years for both commercial and technical pupils. In 1927 there were in England 332 central schools (departments) offering a four-year course, and 277 offering a three-year course.
Some of the children leave immediately on reaching the age of 14+. This of course is commonest in the poorer areas, for eco nomic reasons. A pledge signed by the parents, to keep the child at school until the completion of the course, has some moral effect, but it is not legally binding. A considerable number of pupils re main to the age of 15 or 16 years, and in many cases a fifth year course has been added to the original four.