The Evening Star. MONDAY, MARCH 27, 1871.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2530, 27 March 1871, Page 2

The Evening Star. MONDAY, MARCH 27, 1871.

It gives us great satisfaction to learn that there is every prospect that the experiment hoav being tried of the ■working of two higher class schools—one for males and one for females—by means of nearly the same machinery, is likely to prove a great success. The High School of Otago, as our readers are aware, has now been at work for about eight years, and has been con*

ducted with very considerable success during the greater part of that period. This master or that master belonging to the school may have been disliked by the boys, or by the parents, with or without reason ; but it cannot be denied that, on the whole, the object for which the institution was founded has been attained. Large numbers of boys have been sent out into the world from the High School far more highly educated than they could have been, if such an establishment had not been in existence. For some years there had been considerable agitation going on, and more especially among the ladies of this community, in favor of the foundation of a school for gilds on a plan somewhat similar to that ot the one already in existence for boys. Last year the idea fortunately occurred to the educational authorities that the girls’ school might be made a branch of the High School, co-equal with the boys’ school —the two schools being kept perfectly distinct as far as the pupils are concerned, but being one establishment as far as the teachers are concerned. At the head of this dual establishment for boys and girls are placed a Rector and a Lady Principal respectively. The various subjects embraced by the school curriculum arc taught by them and by a large staff of teachers, each taking charge of his or her own special subject or subjects, and being responsible for them. This plan seems likely to answer well—in accordance with it the well-known principle of “ the division of labor ” must be very effectively brought into operation : its results are likely to be good ; but one of its principal recommendations will be, as seems probable, that it will be very inexpensive. There is no doubt that in this way the two schools may be maintained for about one-fourth more thau the boys’ school alone used to cost. That this now girls’ school satisfies a real want, and that the whole scheme is highly approved of by the public, is evidenced by the fact that a very large number of pupils now attend the establishment. In the girls’ department there are 100 scholars : wo do not know the exact number attending the boys’ school, but believe the number is somewhere between 110 and 120. It must, we think, be confessed that the new arrangement could hardly have been brought into operation under more favorable circumstances, and we do not see how it is possible that the High School can fail to be a gi-cat success. It might bo supposed that some little difficulty ia to be anticipated from the fact that where there are two heads of a house, these two heads do not always agree - and certainly, when jealousy and discord do arise between the partners of a firm, the results are so disastrous that it is not difficult to foresee what would be the probable result if a serious difference of opinion should at any future time occur between the head authorities of the school. As things are at present, however, it seems by no means likely that any such difficulty could occur. The greatest care has been taken to choose persons to fill the chief posts in the scltools, whose position in the profession is such as to place them above any of those potty jealousies which so often cause tktaj misunderstandings. In short, we believe that the constitution of the High School is of such a nature, that its staff of teachers will always feel the necessity for acting with the strictest concert and oneness of purpose in the carrying out of the various work of the school, and that it will he quite impossible for them to fail through any disunion arising from among themselves, or introduced through casual external influences, And this being the case, as we said before, we hold the success of the school to be certain.