Mexborough & Swinton Times – Saturday 17 September 1910
Conisboro’ Evening Classes
The men and youths of Conisboro’ are evidently generally satisfied with the amount and quality of their education, judging by the meagre number who have entered the local evening class.
Our local Education Committee has arranged for a class of young men and lads to be held two evenings per week. Everything in the way of books and material of every kind is provided free and the very moderate fee of 2/6 for the whole session is returned to all who attend regularly. Practically then, the classes are free and one might expect that the number enrolled would be anything from one hundred to two hundred. Instead, there are for the first week a dozen names enrolled.
One can only regret that so many of the lads who leave school at 13 years of age appear to think they are educationally equipped for life. It is not to be wondered at that in the course of a couple of years after leaving school each lads find that much that they learned at echoed has gone, and when their chance comes to take a better position in life they find they cannot seize it because, although they have had the necessary knowledge once in their lives for want of practice in the interval since leering school, that knowledge has gone.
It is sincerely to be hoped that the generous and well-considered efforts of our Conisboro’ Education Committee, to enable the youths of Conisboro’ to continue their education, will not be any longer treated by those whose good is sought in such a slighting way, but that next week a goodly crowd of applicants for registration as students will be forthcoming.
It is satisfactory to hear that a good number of former evening class students has received has received exhibitions from the County Council in order to enable them to attend the Doncaster Technical School. This is a very pleasing feature of former evening school work, and, in fact, almost the only real bright spot.