BANKS COLLEGE

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 68, 13 December 1919, Page 10

BANKS COLLEGE

* PRIZE DISTRIBUTION The annual prize distribution of Banks College, held in tho college buildings yestorday afternoon, irtis attended by a large number of relatves and friends of pupils. Lieut.-Colonel Sleoman, 1.G.5., presided. In the general report' of Mr. 11. Amos (managing director), tho following passages occunred:—"The attendance this year has been twicQ as great as that of any other year. Another now department has been added, viz., that of architecture, and its suceoss has been equal to that of our other departments. In the examinations of the' Institute. of New Zealand Architects that aro at present being conducted; nil tho candidates are students of the collego. In the examinations of tho University of New Zealand, just concluded, we presented 11( candidates for tho accountancy and booK-kcening examinations, 89 for the law professional examination, and 103 for the matriculation and entrance uniexaminations. Thsso entries nro easily ahead of any other educational inscituto 111 New Zealand, and we have every reason to bo proud of the fact. In our commercial departments.—shorthand and typewriting and book-keeping -we have during the year trained 85(5 students, and found positions, for all those wo could reeommend--739. The college has now altogether 20 departments ami 1299 _ students on its roll. At the prosent time we have some 500 returned soldiers attending our various departmentis, and I am very glad to report that these men, with few exceptions,.are working hard to make up the time lost while fighting for their King and country. It is a very great pleasure to lie associated with them, arfd to be ablo to commend their industry. During the year a Cndct Corps has been established, mid under tho able control of Captain .1. A. Duffy it should soon compare far vourably with tho other companies in Group V. I cannot praise too highly the new system of cadet training 'wentl.v introduced by the Director of Military Training, Lieut.-Colonel J. L. Sleeman, T.G.S. ... As our present accommodation is taxed to the'utmost, T nin endeavouring to acquire more suitable nremises in which to condu:t tho Boys' Day School, and I have every hope of succeeding in the. matter "before wo resume next year."

Mr. W. T! Foster, M.A.. B.Litt. (principal of the day school for boys), presented a report, in which he recorded that last year, out of 12 candidate,? submitted bv the secondary department of the lio.vs' school for matr'culation, 10 were suoce=Kful, The attendance of tho boys' school had almost doubled during the. past four years. "I should like to point out," raid. Mr. Fostar, "that ours was . the only college, in this district at least, thit innde any attempt to compensate students for the losr of onportnnity caused by the compulsory closing of schools in November of last year. We began a 'month earlier than usual, and so enabled our candidates to have at least n fortnight's worlj before the examination commenced."

Lieut.'-Colonel Sleemnn, who prewnted t.he ijrizes, said that th« collose. though in its infancy, was really upon historic ground, bv reason of tho clasps formerly held in it for the trnin : n? of officers for the Sprees. ■'JPfiny of the men trained by tlie college ns n.c.o.'s would never come back, havi'v? p-u-en their lives for tlwrir country. Ho believed that the collie could be congratulated unbn inculcatinsr in the students nil that made for str,VErhtne=K and a proner eouipment to meet the difficult conditions of to-day.