MASTERTON TECHNICAL SCHOOL.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 9054, 13 February 1908, Page 7

MASTERTON TECHNICAL SCHOOL.

ANNUAL REPORT.

The following is the annual report ♦of the Managers of the Masterton Technical School, to be submitted to the meeting of subscribers this •evening, on the working of the school during the year ending December 31st, 1907: — The work of the school was commenced on Monday, March 11th, and •during the year classes were established in the following subjects:— Drawing from life, building construction, general drawing, light and .shade, painting, dressmaking, woodworking, wood-carving, plumbers' work, commercial subjects, Engarithmetic, Civil servici? subjects, and Pitman j3 shorthand. In all there were thirteen classes, and the work was ■ spread over a period of thirty-six weeks, comprising three terms of twelve weeks each. The average

number of pupils on the rolls of respective classes was 239, and ■the average attendance 156. This, although not quite so good as last year's record, when the figures were 238 and 167 respectively, may yjt be regarded as satisfactory.

In then* report last year your manpagers statucl that no less.than 47 free pupils were admited to the classes, and that consequently the accommodation was taxed to the uttermost. During the past year this number increased to 49, and of this number no less than 44 succeeded ill complying with *the regulations in respect to the aft'endnace of holders of free places—a result gratifying to managers and instructors alike. Of the ? five who failed to comply with the'

regulations as laid down by the Department, one failed owing to illness, ** two owing to removal from the district, ana the remaining two owing to negligence, and in each of these last two cases your managers are calling upon the parent or guardian to pay the amount lost to the school through the irregular attendance of the pupils concerned, and will, if necessary, take steps to enforce the payment. Candidates from the school were very successful in their examinations during the course of the past year, and succeeded in passing examinations as follow:-In the plumbing examinations . conducted by the Wellington Technical Education Board in June last seven candidates were presented and all ■ passed; whilst in the - City and Guilds of London Institute examinations seven candidates presented themselves for examination, six of whom succeeded in scoring a pass in one or both sections of the examination. In November last the second half yearly examination of plumbers was conducted under the auspices of the Wellington lechnical Education Board, and the two candidates who entered from this school succeeded in passing in both the theoretical and practical sections of their examination. The Civil Service junior examination pass list, recently published, also contains the names of two out of three candidates who safe for that examination' from this institution. Owing to his removal to Greytown North, our nfcwiagers were at the end. of last \ostr regretfully compelled to accept the resignation of Mr A. B. Charters 8.A.. instructor to the class in English and arithmetic. The position, however, was ably filled by the appointment of Mr C. N. Haslam, and good progress has since been maintained. In November last, owing to his removal to Napier, your managers were reluctantly obliged to accept the resignation of Mr S. E. Wright, instructor to the classes in commercial work and wood-carving. Mr Wright has for quite a number of years been connected with the commercial classes in the school, and there is no doubt *hat his place will be very difficult to fill. In August last the school was visited by Mr E. C. Isaac, Instructor under the Manual and Technical Instruction Act, 1900. Mr Isaac inspected the woiking of the respective classes, and later on sent in to managers a confidential report •of a generally favourable character on the work he had seen. : a <V During the past two or three years Preference has been made in each of the annual reports submitted by your managers to the unsuitability of the .present buildnigs, and the insufficiency of the accommodation pro-, vided therein. These grave disadvantages will, however, aoon belong to the past. In May last a movement for the erection of a memorial ■to the late Right Hon. R. J. Seddon was inaugurated in the town, tin influential general committee established to help the movement along, and as •a result the sum of £1,200 was raised for the express purpose of erecting a new technical school in Masterton as a memorial to our late Premier. The Trust Lands Trustees have gener>ousiy provided a valuable and most, centrally situated site on which to erect the building, and with the £ for £ subsidy on the voluntary contributions received, and the special building grant promised by the Minister for Education, there is every ' reason to believe that before the end •of the current year your managers will be superintending .the working of a technical school suitable for the requirements of the town for many years to come. The accompanying statement of receipts and expendidture for the year ended December 31st, 1907, shows the receipts to have been £454 Is 9d, whilst the expenditure covering the same period was £545 14s 2d, thus leaving a debit balance for the year of £9l 12s sd. This statement does not, however, disclose the true financial position in regard to the year's work, as capitation amounting to £135, all of which was earned during the year ended December 31st, 1907, did not come to hand till after the middle of January. In conclusion, your managers de-

sire to take this opportunity of heartily thanking the Masterton f Borough Council, the Trust Lands Trustees, and the New Zealand Education Department for the liberal assistance again rendered by those bodies to the cause of technical education in this town. Mainly owing to the aid received from these sources the work of the school has been maintained, and with the erection of new and commodious buildings, practically now in sight, there is every prospect that the work of the school v ill be advanced along lines calculated to ,prove of lasting benerit to the town and district.