Appendix B.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 133, 5 June 1874, Page 2

Appendix B.

Report on Reading Prizes offered by V the Central Board of Education. TV^he Chairman of the Central Board of Education. Sir— Although the candidates from the Golden Bay district have not yet deeu examined, I have thought if better to report to the Board on the work that has been done already than io wait, until the examinations are completed, when the warm interest in the result i hat is now felt hy many would probably cool down. . These examinations, by exciting a keen and very general spirit of emuk tion throughout our Provincial schools, have accomplished more pood than I at j first anticipated. In many inetances it is evident that both teachers and scholars have been induced to devote more time and pains to a branch of education that has hitherto scarcely received the attention to which it is fairly entitled. As many of the, teachers, very properly, mnde a point of being present during the readings, they thus enjoyed another of thos9 opportunities of comparing the results attained at other schools with those achieved at their own, that are still, unfortunately, too rare. Such friendly competitions as these tend to abate that overweening estimate of their own teaching powers, that isolation is too apt to engender in those whose work is never submitted to the salutary test of public comparison. I trust, therefore, that the Central Board will continue to encourage by the offer of annual prizes, a competition that has already dono so much at so small a cost. I subjoin a short account of the examination at each of the five centres where an award has been made :— V Town and Suburban North Centre. These . numerous and important schools were represented by eight candidates only, Suburban North sendung no competitors, and several of the \pwo schools being unrepresented. Tm competition was therefore confined to Ike Ist divisions of Bridge-street and fl^rdy-street schools, to St. Mary's Girls' sotool^and Haven-road. Messrs D. BurnBlftrtr M. Webster were appointed judges, together with the Inspector. The first prize was awarded to Gertrude Rose, of Hardy-street girls' school. The second was won by L. Augarde, of Bridge-street boys' school. Emma Brunnetti ? \of St Mary's girls' school, wha stood * third, was commended. Thejreadipg of the competitors was, without exception, very creditable, the prose 'being more effectively rendered than the poetry, which was generally given too loudly and too rapidly. Richmond Centre: Thirteen candidates presented themselves rWe from six schools — Richmond boys ancagirls, Stoke, Hope, and the two Wninea West schoolg. The Revs. R. J. Thoftpe and H. Rutberfurd were appointed to assist the Inspector in awarding t% prizes. The first prize was won by'jjames Hastie, of Waiiriea West Village. Rayner H odder, of Richmond beys' school, obtained the second. William Evans of Hope, and ( lara Robinson of Richmond girls' school, who stood respectively third and fourth, were commended. The reading of both prose and poetry was fluent and distinct throughout, the prose being given with better emphasis, but with less accuracy than the poetry. Monotony was the prevailing fault in the reading of poetry. In two instances only was anything like strained or affected reading noticeable.

Waimea South Ckntbb. Ther were nine competitors from this ceuu-d, from Spring Grove, River lem-.ce. Eighty-eight Valley, and Upper and Lower Wakefieldl Mr Joseph Shephard consented to assist the Inspector. in tbe task of examini Ihe first prize w aa awarded to Annie Hoult of Upper jgfeHeld, the socond to Annie WrattMWfiriog Grove. It is to be hqay that the stimulus of these prizes vrWgause greater attention to he paid itCfVaimea South to the art of reading aloud. The candidates, with scarcely an exception, read in a rapid and unintelligent manner and had very li.ttle idea of inflexion. Not one read poetry really well. MOTUEKA AND MotTTERE CENTRE , Messrs Drummond and Funnell were appoiuted to assist the Inspector in awarding the prizes here. Eight candidates presented themselves from Upper and Lower Moutere and Motueka. Heavy rain prevented several intending competitors from the more distant schools from coming forward. The first prize fell to John Wilson of the Motueka school, the secopdito Sylney Cook of Lower Moutere. ' jEmily Guy, of Lower Moutere, and Louis Buchholz, of Motueka, were also commended The nervousness from which few of the candidates at the other centres were altogether free, was painfully apparent here, and in some instances quite marred the effect of the reading of the most, promising scholars. As several of these, however, are considerably under the limit, of age prescribed by the Board, and wil! therefore be allowed to compute next year, it is to be expected that familiarity will lessen the terrors of an ordeal formidable chiefly from its novelty. West Coast Schools. As no convenient centro could be found at which the candidates from the West Coast schools could meet for examination, the examinations were made at each school by the Inspector alone. Not less than 29 candidates preseotcd themselves under this system. On the whole, the readiug of both prose nnd poetry was of fair quality, though it was noticeable that several of these schools that had been longest at woik did not succeed so well as 6ome thai, bad been more recently opened. The first prize was won by John Ormond, of St. Patrick's school, Charleston; the second full to Charlotte Crumpton, of Blackett-street, Charleston. Minette M'Donald of Westport, and Sorah Me!ody of St. Mary's, Ahaura, both deserve honorable mention. I have, &c., W. C. Hodgson.