The question of the length of masters’ holidays in a reception area is a somewhat thorny one, the essential factor being that the boys must be looked after the whole year round. In order to fix our ideas it is convenient to consider two extreme cases. First, let us suppose it is decided that the masters are to have the same length of holiday period as the boys. If a programme of work can be arranged with two-thirds of the staff on duty, and if the boys can be properly supervised when on holiday by one-third of the staff, then diagram I shows a possible solution for a holiday of four weeks.