REPORT ON THE ANNUAL STANDARD EXAMINATION OF THE TEMUKA SCHOOL, Held Dec. 6th and 7th, 1880.

Temuka Leader, Issue 343, 22 January 1881, Page 2

REPORT ON THE ANNUAL STANDARD EXAMINATION OF THE TEMUKA SCHOOL, Held Dec. 6th and 7th, 1880.

Staff —Head Master, Mr A. Mclntosh ; Head Mistress, Mrs Rowe ; Second Master, Mr E Smith ; Infant Mistress, Miss Mathias; Pupil Teacher, Miss Klee ; Pupil Teacher, Miss Brown. Attendance —Number on Roll, 366 ; average last quarter, 229 ; average last week, 235 ; present at examination, 283. Result of Examination in passes. Stand ard VI, presented 7, passed 2 ; Standard V, presented 13, passed 9 ; Standard IV, presented 29, passed 20 ; Standard 111, presented 33, passed 22; Standard H presented 42, passed 34; Standard I, presented 44, passed 30. Total presented, 168, passed 117. Percentage of passes, 691.

Education Office, Timaru, Jan. 13, 1881. A. Wilson, Esq., Chairman Temuka School Committee Sir, —In ©ompliance with the request of your Committee, I submit the following list of scholars recommended for prizes on the basis of the an mai examination. I regret that your request was not made known to me in time to admit of my including the two lower standards. Standard Vl.—Mary Russel Ist, Florence Brown 2nd, William Dyson 3rd, Standard V—Wilford Cooper Ist, Agnes Donn 2nd, Elizabeth Ackroyd 3rd, Standard IV. —Sarah Douglas Ist, Forbes Gray 2nd, Lottie Pilbrow 3rd. Standard lll.—William Thorpe Ist, Daniel McCaskill 2nd, William Radford frd.

Supplementary Prizes ; Good Conduct—L, Rayner. Needle Work—B; Pilbrow. Regular Attendance —R. McKinley. Standard I.—E. Storey Ist, Percy Fauvell 2nd, and Ellen Irvine 3rd. Monitors—Mary Russell, E. Guy, B, Pilbrow, and F. Brown.

General Remarks

The average standard of attainment throughout the school continues good, and the work shows that the teaching Ims been very comprehensive, but the per centage of passes shows a falling off from last year's results. This appears to have been caused by the adoption in some subjects of a too ambitious course, and by a want of periodical testing on the basis of the Government requirements. In reading and spelling some of the classes have been allowed to take work beyond their capacities There ia, of course, no possible objection to the use of a book more advanced than that prescribed, provided the work is fairly done, but very imperfect work of an advanced character cannot be accepted in place of perfect work as prescribed in the syllabus.

The adult subordinate teac'ers appear to hive been allowed to carry out the year’s work without the close supervision and periodical examination by the Head Master necessary in all large schools. These periodical examinations must have shown that the arithmatic of Standard IY, the spelling and arithinatic of Standard HI, and the arithmutic of Standard I, could not meet the requirements of the syllabus. Many of the subjects,|as shown by the annexed schedules have been admirably taught; but the failures —also indicated—can only be prevented by care being taken that the requirements of the standard syllabus are perfected before the class is allowed to proceed to higher work.

Great increase in the attendance has again rendered the school over-crowded, and further accommodation must shortly be provided. So soon as this is decided upon, I would suggest that a new infant school be built upon the new site, now in the hands of the Committee, opposite the present school. The infant department generally suffers most from over-crowding, and the present state of the infant department of the Temuka School impairs the efficiency of the instruction, and must be seriously injurious to the health of both teachers and scholars

The general organization and the order and discipline are satisfactory : and, except in the direction indicated, the school is doing very good work.

Henry W. Hammond, Inspector of Schools,