PAPER CHASE War brought severe problems, not least the question of the rationing of paper which had already begun by December '39 when the Head urged the staff to practise every possible economy. By January economy of paper was the main topic of a staff meeting:- It was suggested that children should collect odd pieces of paper for general notebook work; that they should be issued with paper clips, and should endeavour to keep a stock of such paper for all rough work. Miss Hampson suggested that general notebooks should be expected to last for four months, and, if children did not manage this they should then be expected to supply their own paper. Mr Potts commented on the serious lack of decent paper there appeared to he in the children's homes, judging front the paper that parents used for sending notes to school. Mr James thought that the children should be given suggestions as to the sort of paper they could bring to school, i.e. envelopes cut open, backs of handbills, etc. Mr Beach said that he thought lines (written during detentions) should not be written in general notebooks or any other school books, as he thought this was a case where these odd scraps of paper could be usefully employed. It was generally agreed that this scheme for collecting oddments of paper should be adopted, but that it could not be enforced as in some cases it seemed quite possible that children would not be in a position to collect this kind of paper. Miss Jones said that she could bring some odd paper, and it was also generally agreed that all the Staff would have to co-operate as it was unreasonable to expect children to go to the trouble of collecting paper, if the Staff were not prepared to do so, added to which, if the Staff collected paper, it would set a good example to the children. It was decided that this rough paper could he used for Maths and French, at least, and probably for other subjects. It must, of course, be made clear to the children that dirty paper is of no use whatever; size does not matter, but it must be clean. The whole matter to be at the discretion of the Staff, but it was to be clearly understood that the Staff should use this paper whenever possible. As a further economy, Miss Stonebridge suggested that children should be encouraged to underline headings instead of leaving several blank lines under them. The Staff were asked to consider whether a measure of oral work could be used instead of written work. but it was unanimously agreed that we could not economize in this way. Mr Potts suggested that, as a further economy, the Maths people should go back to the use of narrow lined books, but the Headmaster said that it was most important that the children's handwriting should not be allowed to suffer for this reason. Paper Economy was again mentioned in a staff meeting in April when the Head impressed upon the Staff that they would have to make more and more use of odd pieces of paper that the children brought in. In May, the Headmaster again asked for strict economy with regard to the use of stationery. When children left the School, all their old exercise books were to be given in to Miss Bateman for possible future use. They thought they might have to use books with narrower rulings, or possibly fold pages down the middle. The staff had legislated that the pupils cover all textbooks and even Library books when in use but the shortage of paper soon forced them to abandon the practice. The Headmaster said that any misuse of school property (this included wasting school paper) should be punished by imposing a fine of 1/2d upwards. . Mr Naylor said that he thought boxes should he provided in which children should put their fines, as he did not think it wise that the Staff should be seen pocketing the money it might lead to misunderstandings on the part of the children. The headmaster agreed with this suggestion, and asked Mr Naylor to see about the providing of these boxes in various parts of the building. The children should also be informed that the fines were to be used to provide useful or decorative articles for the school. I assume they did not have the problem with litter that we have! Those used to staff meetings might be amused to hear that the Headmaster closed the meeting at which the economy of paper was discussed by saying that, although he welcomed constructive ideas and discussion, he felt that the Staff must make an effort to keep strictly to the point at Staff Meetings, otherwise it would be impossible to get through the amount of business that was waiting to he settled. Under Shelter During the autumn term five surface shelters had been provided on a part of the school field. In view of the fact that an elementary school was sharing the premises, Mr Withrington was concerned that these would be insufficient for the school if it were to grow much further. At that stage it was planned that further protection would he provided inside the school. By June the staff were sorting out their roles should the shelters have to be used: The women members of the Staff are to be responsible for the first aid in each shelter. Cotton wool has been provided to provide ear plugs for each child in the School. The male members of the Staff, on receipt of the alarm, are to be responsible for collecting the pail full of drinking water, and the mugs and jugs from the kitchen. It was advised that children should be given as little to drink as possible. Sawdust impregnated with disinfectant will be available in the shelters in case the children are sick, and a bottle of disinfectant will also be available for use in the lavatories. You Set the Standards The formal opening of the school in October had been abandoned but the staff were determined to have some kind of formal ceremony or service of welcome which was finally held on March 16 1940 planning for which had to include procedures in case it was interrupted by an air raid. Alderman Col R R Kimmitt, OBE, chairman of the Ealing Higher Education Committee and Chairman of Governors, presided, and was supported by the Mayor and Mayoress of Ealing (Clr and Mrs Garner) and the Headmaster, Mr J W Withrington. Three schoolgirls presented bouquets to the Mayoress, Mrs Kimmitt, and Mrs Fuller. The proceedings were begun with a short service, in the course of which the Rev F C Minard Perkins read a lesson and the Vicar of Ealing (the Rev H Greatbatch) said prayers and gave the benediction. page 27