THE SCHOOL YEAR

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 34, 3 November 1937, Page 4

THE SCHOOL YEAR

Matriculation Prospects Good For Hastings Pupils SHORTER STUDY PEDIOD Secondary schoois are now drawing to the close of the year's work, and for the higher forms the shadow of the university entrance examinations is beginning to appear. It was feared that the prolonged holidays enforced at the beginning fo the year th*ough the infantile paralysls epidemic would be a serious handicap to those going forward to public examinations, but headmas|leis of schojols with wliom the position was discussed to-day, were confident that this handicap had been practically overcome and that, from a final examination point of view, the year will be a norma! one. More candidates tha: usual from the Hastings High School' will be sitting this year, said Mr W. A. G. Penlington, M.A., headmaster of the school, this morning, but he considered that their chances were quite bright. Mr Peulington pionted out that there had already been in existence for some years a system of scaling marks for university entrance in order to even out any irregularity caused by special circumstances. The view is held that approximately the same percentage of candidates should pass from year to year, and, if there is any markcd variation from the average, then scaling is brought into use to restore the balance. It has also been suggested that the papers set may be a shade- easier this year, and Mr Peulington said the University had promised "to give consideration. to candidates in the marking of papers. There will be 45 candidates from the Hastings High School sitting this year — a larger proporiton of the senior pupils than has sat before. They have probably "been made optimistic by the high passes of last year, and perhaps, ot some extent also, by th£ hope th; t they will get special consideration this year. With the optimism of youth, they are willing to risk a ccuple of guineas rather than wait. Mr Penlington said that he did not think there was likely to be any diiference in the passes this year. Pupils had worked so hard since school resumed that ihe loss of time had been largely, if not entirely, made up, and, provided that the candidates continued to work as hard as they had been doing, lie thought they nee.d Have no fears about their chances. The pupils had come back from theix long vacation with sueh a spirit of determination to make up for lost time that they had now reached the point they would have attained in any normal year. The Hastings High School, also, curtailed the term holidays later in the year,. and in this wfty made up for a great deal of the time lost. '(We found in the term University examinations last month that the break had not done fatich harm," said M»r Penlington. "Our pupils did as well as could have been expected even in a . normal year." Last year 50 per cent. of th© University Entrance candidates in the whole of New .Zealand. passed and 75 per cent. of those from the Hastings High School. The University Entrance and School Certificate examinations will open at Napier on December 6, and will continue urtil December 17, during which time it- is expected that bottveen 80 and j'O candidates will sit for the examinatiois.