SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3114, 19 June 1917, Page 6

SECONDARY SCHOOLS

COURSES OF STUDY

Amended regulations have been approved regarding secondary school certificates. The Minister of Hducaiiou has already made important alterations in the regulations governing the graining ot free places in. the secondary schools, tlie net result of which changes is to make it rather more difficult to. win a free place in a secondary school. These secondary school certificates are granted to pupils in the secondary schools as proof that a certain amount of work has been done, and they are of a, certain definite recognised value as certificates. In th new regulations tlie important alteration is that a stated amount of work in English is prescribed, and pupils are required to fake up mathematics and a science to win the intermediate and lower leaving certificates. v Previously the higher leaving certificate's, which entitles the holder to free university education, has not been granted except to pupils faking a full secondary course of, say, five subjects. It will now be possible for a pupil to gain n higher leaving.certificate taking only three subjects, one of them being English, provided Borne special attention has been given to those (subjects. One effect of this cliange will be that scholars will be able to begin specialisation at the secondary school, or to lake something in the nature of a vocational course.