PROVINCIAL SCHOLARSHIPS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 59, 8 March 1872, Page 2

PROVINCIAL SCHOLARSHIPS.

The following report from the examiners was read afc the monthly meeting of the Central Board held yesterday : — To the Chairman of the Centeal Board op Education. Sir, — At the request of the Board, we have examined the candidates for the Provincial Scholarships at three centres of population, Nelson, Richmond, and Motueka. Copies of papers, together with full instructions, were also sent to the Rev. J. M'lntosb, of Greymouth, who kindly undertook to conduct tbe examination of candidates at Cobden, the only school outside of the Blind Bay district that has entered into the competition on this occasion. Bullard, of Motueka, and J. Harkness, of Richmond, are the successful candidates. To facilitate comparison, great care has been taken to assimilate the method of examining and the scale of marks to those adopted last year.

The number of competitors, twentyone, is tbe same as last year's examination • but though several of the larger schools are unrepresented, it may be assumed, judging from the small number of marks obtained by the three or four candidates at the bottom of the list, that it could not bave been advantageously extended, and that the non-competing schools have taken an accurate measure of their own powers.

The honors of the contest are divided equally and almost exclusively between Motueka and Richmond, seven out of eight of the names tbat head the list having been furnished by these two schools. And it ought to be mentioned, as being especially creditable to Motueka, that every boy in the school who had attained his twelfth year, presented himself for examination.

We found that Richmond excelled in composition, hand-writing, and spelling, the latter being, indeed, faultless ; while at Motueka arithmetic waa clearly the strong point.

A comparison of the marks obtained by the country candidates at the previous examination with those now awarded, will suffice to show how great a stride has been made during the intervening twelve months. The average in 1870 was only 105'8, as against 159 this year.

Our report would not be complete were we not to record our sense of the uniform attention and intelligence with which our instructions were listened to and carried out. In no case has it been found necessary to repeat our directions, which were invariably complied with in every particular. The task of examining was thus rendered unusually easy.

We have, &c, Frank Simmons, ) W.C. Hodgson, } Exammers '