BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL.

Taranaki Daily News, 15 December 1920, Page 5

BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL.

.VACATION COMMENCES.

SHE BREAK-UP CEREMONX The breaking-up ceremony and distribution of prizes in connection with the New Plymouth Boys' High School, took place last night. The chairman of the Board of Governors (Mr. L. C. iSladden) presided, and the visitors included the Mayor (Mr. F. E. Wilson) and Mrs. Wilson and Professor Hunter, of Victoria College University, Wellington. The report of the principal (Mr, W. E. Moycs) stilted :

In presenting the 401b annual report of the Boys' School, I wish, once again, to convey my thanks to all those who have assisted the school during tho past year. Kspeclally would I like to thank the parents or preparatory boys for the patience they displayed while their children were taught in the racecourse buildings. Owing to the increase in tho roll number and to the unavoidable delay In connection with the erection of extra class rooms, it was found impossible to accommodate all the classes in the school 'oulldings, and we therefore again decided to make use of some of the rooms kindly placed at our disposal by the Tarahaki Jockey Club. To this body tte school is under a deep debt of gratitude. Without Its assistance the school would have been very severely handicapped during the last six years and would have been compelled to remain at a standstill.

School opened on February 12, Unfortunately, Influenza broke out two days after re-openlng, and work was not commenced until a fortnight later. The number entered on the roll for 1920 la 415, an Increase of 59 on that of last year. Of the total number attending the sohoo";, 203 have been boarders and 102 have boen pupils in the preparatory department. In. tl'e upper school no new appointments have been made during the year. In the preparatory school Bliss E. Campbell was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Mr. D, Saxton, who left to take a position on the staff of the Waltakl Boys' High School. Mr. E. A. Howe, M.Sc, resigned at th« end of 1019 in order to take up the 1831 Exhibition Scholarship, and is now pursuing h!a studies In London. Mr. H. V. Soarle, wto was for two yenrs absent on active service, returned in February. I would like to take this opportunity of expressing my appreciation of the manner In which he has carried out the duties allotted to him. He has again' taken charge of the school shooting teams and has been Instrumental in bringing them to that nlgl" state of efficiency, which has won a name for the school In the past. Mr. J. Connell, who was previously instructor In Agriculture to the Tnranakl Education Board, and who was a part time master at this school in mil), accepted a permanent position on the staff at the beginning of the year. Tfcis appointment has materially strengthened the staff for, apart from making possible a more comprehensive course In agriculture, it has enabled me to synchronise, to some extent, the work In the different forms. The commercial work done in the school is now In' the hands of Mr, Eggleton. The results of the annual examinations were most gratifying. A Senior National Scholarship was won by E. C. Roberts. Taranaki scholarships were awarded to N. Waddle, L. Richardson and E. (Irelner, and E. Smith was awarded a Junior National Scholarship. The matriculation examination was passed by N. Bellrlnger, It. Blundcll, A. Candy, A. Christie, J. Cleonow, A. Gilbert, J. Henderson, B. Horner. J. W. Jillett, B. Johns, C. Kyngdon, L. Malt, M. Nicholson, L. O'Halloran, K. OTlalloran, W. Rea, M. Sutherland. S Train, E. Walters, C. White and S. White. Partial success for the same examination were gained by B. Hutchen, H, Morton and C. Newel!. I regret to say that several of the most promising candidates were unable to sit for the examination through Illness. During the year a class has again been held at the school for most matriculation boy 3 desirous of sitting for the degree examinations. Eight boys sat for the terms examination in connection with the B.A. and L.L.B. degrees. Of these, .T. Hine, W. Jillett, C. Noble, W. Rea and J. Willis were successful. Noble's performance Is worthy of special mention. This candidate gained first class passes In Latin and in England, coming top of the list of successful candidates In Latin and second in English. In this connection I wish to thank those members of imy staff who have devoted-so much of their spare time to assist boys taking a degree course. The success achieved by candidates from this school Is due, In no small measure, to the fact that He teachers responsible for the work have, throughout the year, held classes oiit of school hours. The various school institutions have received the usual attention. In shooting, the school has again won distinction and has easily teld Its own with the other schools of the Dominion. Eight teams were entered for the Imperial Challenge Shield competitions, and all gained n place in the prize list. In both senior and junior competitions the school was third for the Empire and first for lie Dominion. In the competition for the Christchureh Press Shield, the temm ■ representing the school put up n remarkably good score and will no doubt be well up on the list, when the results are published. The annual cricket match against Wanganui College took place In Wanganui on March sth and oth. Although the school was defeated by 122 runs, I am glad to say that the form displayed by the team' was a distinct Improvement on that of former years. The standard of cricket la still far below what it should be in a school of this size, but every effort Is being made lo improve it I am in hopes that, when suitable grounds are provided In New Plymouth, the Tnranakl Assoclalion will co-operate with tl'e school In providing a professional coach for the younger players. Thitil this is done, cricket Is never likely to reach a very high standard in North Taram.kl. Four teams were entered for the North Taranakl football competitions. Of theuo the senior team tied with Clifton for the Northern championship, but, owing to 110 boildays, the tinal match was not played. The only school match played was against Wanganui College at Hawera. This took place in pouring rain and resulted in a win for Wanganui by 11 points ;to 3. Cadet work, swimming, life-saving, and tennis havo all been carried on as usual. The work of the cadets under Mr. Ryder, who Is. ably assisted by other members of the ■ staff, has been very highly commented upon by those who have had an opportunity of witnessing it. The preparatory department has again been handicapped through lack of accommodation and through the unsympathetic attitude of the educational authorities in Wellington. I have no hesitation In saying that the boys from this department have, during the last six years, played an Important part in the development of the school. They hare done much towards establishing that school spirit which is noticeable to-day and which has cn-i able the school to carry on successfully | during n very trying time. While prepara-1 lory schools of this kind are allowed by the Education Act, it is unfortunately a fact that they arc not popular with the Education Department. I sincerely hop* that In the near futuro something will he done to establish this preparatory school on a firmer basis, and that It will the found possible to finance a scheme to provide buildings entirely separate from trose at present in existence

The boarding department has again been taxed for accommodation. J9S boys were in residence during the first, terra and, of these, 20 were housed In Moiilosa. Oivint' to the difficulty of access to the property, this arrangement proved unsuitable. It lias therefore been decided to limit the number of boarders to 170, until such time as it is found possible to erect more buildings. It is with profound regret that I have to report that in the first term, two of our most promising boys, Keltti Baker and Brian Dailey, died as the result of operations. Both boys by their kindly nature and manliness had won their way to the heart of every boy and master In, the school. They iWU leog kit ttttsufttriHl Vr theie who vm»

privileged to lie numbered amongst their friends.

I As in previous years, I am under a deep debt of gratitude to the Old Boys of, tlie aahoal. Individually and collectively they I'ave shown in many ways that their Interest In the school Is still alive. - I wish to take this oportunity of offering tho congratulations of the school to Mr. ,T. E. Wilson, a fornier president of the Old Boys' Association, on his appointment to the Chief Justiceship of Samoa, and to those younger Old Boys of the school vrtio, by their scholastic successes at the University colleges, are helping to place the school in the front rank, I feel that I cannot allow the present occasion to pass without referring to the death of one of the most promising of our younger Old Coys. It was with deep regret that we learned that Alister Sutherland, our second representative to proceed to Duntroon Military College, had succumbed to enteric fetvr while engaged on military duty In India. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to his bereaved parents in their loss.

In conclusion, I wish to tender my sincere thanks to tho Board of Governors for the whole-hearted assistance they have given me during the year. I wish also to thank my staff, the prefects and tho boys of the school, for the support they have at all times Klven' me during the last twelve montlu.

The chairman said that the attendance was renewed evidence of the popularity of the school. The work of the school during the last year had been very much hampered by repeated sickness. This was most unfortunate, but was not peculiar to this district, as most other schools had been under a similar disability. In this connection the speaker pointed out that the school had up sick room or hospital to which pupils could be transferred and isolated .when cases of an epidemic nature occurred. This matter, however, would be remedied in the near future. .The Government had given a grant for a sick room, a contract had been let, and had it not been for the shortage of materials the work would have been well on the way to completion. All were aware, said Mr, Sladden, of the difficulty under which the BSard had been working in regard to finance since the unfortunate time when the old school was burnt. He was glad to be able to eay, however, that at the end of this year the Board was beginning to see daylight ahead, or in other wards, to "get square" again. The completion of the building, erection of the tower and a variety of other matters • w er e still awaiting attention. When the Minister for Education was in New Plymouth recently he gave the Board a sympathetic hearing, and one grant made by the Department was for a sum of £2OO for work on the gully. This would provide additional football and playing grounds. The Board had acquired certain other leases around the boarding house, and now had control of a sufficient area of ground to provide for .all buildings that could possibly be necessary for some time in the future. Although the expenditure had been a little bit heavy, he trusted that future boards and generations would recognise that the Board had done the best thing. Mr. Sladden urged the boys who were leaving to stick to their old school. There was a freemasonry connected with the spirit surrounding a school that was unequalled. He reminded the boy 3 that a school was judged by what the scholars did ' after they left. To those who were severing their connection he wished a successful career Professor Hunter thanked the Board of Governors for the invitation to be present at the ceremony. He expressed his empathy with the school on the loss of its -buildings, and placed on record tho high appreciation of the work done by Mr. Moyes and his colleagues which was felt by people outside the province of Taranaki. As one who had come m close contact with a good many of the boys from the New Plymouth High School, he could say that they held a high reputation in the classroom and on the sports field, and their sportsmanship could always be relied upon. Some of them had taken a prominent part in fashioning the ideals and stimulating life in Victoria University College.

Tim Mayor, on behalf of the townspeople, expressed apprecjjition of the service rendered to the community by the teachers of the school. They had set u high standard, and rightly so It was not unattainable, however, -as the pupils had shown notwithstanding the difficulties under which the school had labored. An important feature was that tiie standard had not only been reached, but was being maintained, and it was a source of pleasure to citizens to note the successes of the school in various Bpheres, such as the shooting competitions. The parade "of the boys from the sciiool was always a feature in any public function, while their bearing in the streets was a credit to their school.

The boys returned the speaker's compliment with cheers for the Mayor and Mayoress. . Mr. ,T. B. Roy, who was a member of the, Board of Governors some twenty five years ago, congratulated the school on the wonderful progress shown during the last ten or fifteen years. Under the capable management of Mr. Moves ably assisted by the staff, the institution had reached a position second to none in New Zealand. To the boys who were returning, lie urged that they should carry on the traditions of the school, and those who were leaving should remember their school and live up to it.

The presentation of prizes occupied an important place in Hie programme. Besides the class awards, there was a lengthy list of sports honors, in athletics,, rifle shooting, tennis, boxins. swimming and cricket. The prizes were presented by Airs. Sladden and the Mayoress.

At the conclusion of the proceeding, cheers were given by the bovs for the stair and for Mr. and Mrs. Moves.

During the evening musical items were given by the boys, under the. direction of their tutor, Mr. K. Remind, and the orchestral and vocal numbers were much appreciated.

PRIZE LIST. Following Is a list of the prizes:— Standard.l.—.Tames Dykes !, John navies 2. Stamford ll.—Olaf Olover 1. Alisier Hethorliißton 2.

Standard lit.—David Hetherlnston 1, Alan Washer 2.

Standard IV.—Percival Grover 1, Harold Fookes 2.

Standard V.—Tom Sllson 1, Edmund Leech Standard Vl.—Hedley Bellrlnger 1, Gordon Bayly 2, Vincent Carlhew 3,

Form 3d.—D. Avery, Ist in form; extension, Ist in mathematics and science; Cottier, Ist in languages and literature. Form 3c.—H. Hunt, Ist in form; H. Hunt, Ist in .mathematics, science, and languages; McLean, 2nd in languages, literary, and mathematics.

Form 3b.—Evans, Ist In form, Ist In mathematics, science, and languages; Webb, 2nd In mathematics, science, and languages. Form 3,l.—Lysona, Ist In form, mathematics, science and languages; Nash, 2nd In mathematics, science, and languages. Fonm 4c—Jennings, Ist In form, languages, and Literary; Kumball, Ist in mathematics and science.

Form 4b.—K. Neal, lit In form; Alexander, Ist in mattomatlcs and science; Burke, Ist In languages and literature,

Vim Ah*-)), fiei, lit is fc*a> nttttwAatlet