WELLINGTON CITY SCHOOLS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 4952, 5 February 1877, Page 3

WELLINGTON CITY SCHOOLS.

i , ; The.followingispecial report By Mr. Lee, on the Wellington city schools, forma'p'art of his 'annual report,: but has .not. previously ap- ' '".pearedr— >.>; . : ',.■■<>; ..-'. ..'- : -;. > .... j .-, Since the beginning 'of 1874, when I.first examined the' Wellington city schools,'-the attendance has doubled, having increased from 609 to 1111 ; but during the past yeat,two, ' Boman Catholic schools, which containe'd 148;; - children in.: 1874,'have withdrawn:from the, ~ i .control of the;Education Board..'''.;'Stai|dard'.7i.' *jork has increased from 282 passes jto 557, ,-'. jfnd' from ,41 per "cent to 50 per cent?, in tji.e .'.:'-■ .respective-numbers attending - then - and.now.,. ': 'Within the same period the Standard' 11. passes | have quadrupled numerically, and'doubled in" . percentage results. ,'Also 49 have now reached the Third Standard, and 5 the Fourth.j These are far from being high results for city schools; ; „; . but they indicate good splifl suepess in the pre- ~ paratory work, and give" promise of j higher '::;< ■■■ work in'a few years/. Four of the city schools, ; ont of the five' important; schools!"(including the infants), are under first-class management , and good teaching power ;J and I'have every confidence in their ultimate success, as com- . paring • favbrably with the best public institur tions of their kind.: Efforts will be made to ": improve the condition of the Te Aro| school. ' '• The educational status of the: city schools Y even- now compares favorably with that of the ■'.", country districts, especially in general intelli- ■ gence and clearness in enunciation and'expression in reading., .Notwithstanding weakness in , o'neschool, there! are only 31 children in'all ■ i- who "ate classed as unsatisfactory. ", ;; * ; A year or bo ajjo' Wellington had no State , school of its own, and no land oa which to build one. The Terrace school, formerly knbyn . as the' Old' Gikmiaar-school, with an acre of' .'.',' laud, had been purchased ; and ■■ the Buckle- : ' street schools have been built on about a third ' 'ef am a*re of land' I'.;»■& T«y pl eoßed .**■ •--^' istati thai the Colonial Government, by la grant f ;. ; ef, -two -very i suitable .idfea iear the (present 1 , Buckle-street schooln, has,.put.it within the ■'■ :""" ffwer of T0WtBo«c( to' •;'.'.'; InlSclently V-lirge 'to meet'all the wants of, the .'.',,, .brewing' population located at-tbe Te JLro end ; , el the city—scbooU which will allow of the

separation of-girls and-infants,- and afford plenty of playground for physical exercise. Althoughthe Church of England schools in the city have proved of most valuable service to your Board, they do not afford sufficient accommodation' for all wants in their respective neighborhoods, nor can they be looked upon by your Board as permanently available properties. The General Government has most considerately come to the aid of your Board in a time of need for school sites at the Te Aro end of the city ; but the present Thorndon school is overcrowded, and similar aid is much needed for the Thorndon end of the city. I hope, therefore, a separate girls' school and a separate; infants' school will be erected there before long. . „ . '. 1; Te Ano.—There has been a falling off in Standards 11. and 111. results during the year. The.classes under Miss Helyer and Mr. _S. Singer were satisfactory. The most unsatisfactory part of the school was the upper section, in which few passed Standard 11., and only one passed Standard 111. The head master is much to' be blamed for admitting privileged pupils into this section, taught principally by'himself. He has thus, in one of seven departments into which the ! school isdivided, attempted to teach the work of .four Standards; and, aithough he has not been idle, he has failed miserably. ... . • The lower part of the school was fair. The discipline and management generally are weak, and a radical change is imperative. : 2. Thokkdon.—This school is nearly as large as Te Aro school,; having increased 55 pupils during the past'year. Thorndon school fully maintains the leading position among the large schools of this education district ascribed to it in my last report." It has now produced exceedingly good work, .24 pupils having reached the Third Standard. Throughout the school the arithmetical work:was neat and accurate. Except the copy book writing and tables for Standard.!., the work throughout the school in all sections was uniformly gsod, and in this I include the infant classes. The class reading and repetitions for all the three •highest Standards: were, rendered with good taste. The new passes-.made this year -sisted of 68 in Standard-1.-, 32 in Standard 11., 13 in Standard lII* and 3 in Standard IV. Several passes were made by ; very young candidates in their respective Standards. The school is well officered, managed, .and appointed ; but additional buildings are much required for this end of the city, so as:to afford a separation of the girls and infants where the numbers are so large. ' Mr. Mowbray, has now been teaching twenty-one. years,.. of which nearly eighteen years have ieen spetit_ in the Thorndon 'school,.' doing; most conscientious and ;effective work. During the four years the school has been under your Board it jhas been raised from a very low to a comparatively high standard of: efficiency ; : and the head master,; by his ability and painstaking work, has exercised' an influence for good which it would be difficultto estimate at its true value. ■3. "Buckle-street Boys'.—The; j Bucklestreet boys' school has only; been open rather more than a year. Being in a dense part of the city, it .has -been crowded almost since it was first opened. During a part of; the year the time of the upper classes was much wasted. It is now under a first-class experienced master, who has already done good work. This school at present has greater advantages in producing results'than the mixed schools, as all infants are excluded,' none being admitted until they can read easy narrative.. The, percentage results;will therefore be high, and subject to special-, consideration. The, discipline and general management are very good, and with the efficient' teaching power now: provided avery large school - may. be most thoroughly' taught, v.;; i ,!:' -. ' ' 4. Buckle-street Girls' School now numbers 127 children, including infants, and is fast becoming attractive. ; When Separate schools are erected for the boys, and the whole, of the present buildings set apart for the girls,. I think a large efficient, school may be main-\ tained. < The' withdrawal of the infants, and the separation, of the higher classes_of j the girls in a room by themselves, will allow of considerable, scope for the development of! a good school. The work of the past year has been quite satisfactory, 52" new passes being; made in Standard 1., 11 in Standard 11., and 2 in Standard 111, The reading throughout the school was good ; that of therupperjsectionsvery good,-and that of the two "candidates • passed in Standard 111. admirable. Mrs. Tarn 'i exercises a most pleasing and gentle influence over her. pupils ; and the conduct of the'girls' appears,, so, far as lean judge from frequent' visits, to be exceptionally good. Before the i late examination, only 11 had previously passed Standard I.J • and*: only '4 had passed Standard ;3X?7 At such a-'low standard do wejfind the previous-education—of—girls-in - this part of the 'city:! <[•.■;; 101-yj-r '<; '1 K> 1 | 5. Terraob.—Mr. Young has worked very, hard and successfully to establish the school and bring it 'to its present state of efficiency. ■The percentage passes in ' Standard I. [are low, but exceedingly-good work has been done—32: having passed'Standard 1., 17 : Standard"H.7"7; Standard lII.', and 2 Standard IV., at| the late' examination,- after eleven months' work, Being,near the holidays, 38 children .'were absent from examination out. of the total.qf .120. now on the books, and this, in a acccrants-:for .the dlow'feflultS[in" l .Stahdard I. The school' is.well appoirited.Twell.disciplined, and : altogother in .'capital working order. It :will!well supply the educational wants of the narrow, parV.of the! city'lying-between the large schools at Thorndon and J Te Aro; ,';6< Tort-street I lotant. School: is satisfactorily taught: and/, managed;,' Of the nirietjr'-siX; on;'the .books, twenty-two are over - eight-years of age;--and—are,; therefore/ infants ~only in j attainments." !Of the eighty-two "present, I found twenty-five learning,letters,]twenty-eight'read;the primer fairly, and' tyenty-nine; read " No. 1 Royar A "few. write a very easy sentence in monosyllables fr.oih. dictation.. . Script exercises 'are not. yet iii use. Twenty-four, add bne line addition,.andpix'add three lines:; The multiplicatibn' tables''are repeated simultaneously, j but "no addition tables are learnt. The work I of the school'is' sufficiently 1 varied, except that "1 suggest, the" Waging of stories occasionally, with corirersatlonil questioning afterwards.