BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL.

Globe, Volume XXIV, Issue 2716, 22 December 1882, Page 3

BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL.

The following report was omitted yesterday :

Canterbury College, December, 1882

The Chairman of the Board of Governors. Sir, —I have the honor to submit my report on the recent examination of the Boys’ High School in mathematics, geography and German. The school being new does not contain boys who are far advanced, and it will probably be a couple of years before the upper forms reach their proper level. This will explain why the fourth is at present the highest form in the school. Still, as some of the lower forms would be inconveniently large if there were no subdivision the first and second are each subdivided into upper and lower. I am quite satisfied with the general way in which the arithmetic has been done. In the fourth, third, and upper second, the results were good, although the papers were decidedly hard. In the fourth there was only one boy who failed to reach a good standard, and his failure resulted from extreme carelessness. In the third the average is good, but the boys are uneven in attainment; one obtained exceedingly high marks, several others were high, but, on the other hand, there were a few below the proper standard. The upper second is a more level class than the third. In the lower second high marks wore generally obtained, and there were only three boys below the ’proper standard; they, however, failed conspicuously. In all these classes the style of work was generally good, except that not unf requently fractions were put down in a way which prevented each statement from being complete and true in itself. In the upper first several of the boys did well, and though this class numbers 25 there were only six who did not do fairly well. The results in the lower first were not so satisfactory, as nine out of 19 in this class werebelow the proper standard. I ought to mention that of six of these who may be said to have failed, four had joined the school only this term. In Euclid, the fourth class was examined in the first three books, which they did fairly well. The third class was examined in the first book, and are, therefore, comparatively beginners ; while half this class answered quite satisfactorily, some of the others appear not yet to have mastered those initial difficulties which always confront a beginner who is entering on the study of exact geometry. The upper second have read only the first few propositions of Book 1., but some of the boys do their work in a promising way. Classes 111. and IV. were examined in algebra, but while the school is so young, and contains no upper classes, much proficiency in this subject is hardly to be expected. In geography the work done was satisfactory, except that a more accurate acquaintance with the geography of Now Zealand might be looked for in the lower forms. The writing and spelling of the first and second classes will need attention; in the third class, on the other hand, the writing is, with few exceptions, good, and that of many of the boys is excellent. Only six boys were examined in Gorman, and their work calls for little remark, as all of it was of a very elementary nature. • C. H. H. Cook.