E.—9

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ject in his address to the University students on Degree Day in 1880. I would also suggest that the time of the higher classes would be better employed in gaining additional knowledge of some appreciable portion of two standard authors than in going out of their way to read sixty lines of Propertins, a hundred and sixteen lines of Catullus, seventy-eight lines of Tibullus. Such desultory reading is pleasant enough, but it is not study and it is absolutely fatal to the honest mastery of any one phase of human thought or emotion as expressed in literature. The persistent advice of the present Professor of Latin at Cambridge, one of the few Englishmen whose erudition rivals that of German scholars, is this " Bead an author in masses until you master him, until you know what he says and why he says it, what his message is to you and to all mankind, what is his place in the hierarchy of literature, and. upon whom his mantle has fallen in modern times." The foundation of this study must be laid in our schools. Examiners may set a piece of Propertius for the junior scholarships, it is true, but teachers can make it a point of professional honoiir not to work specially for examinations, but to educate in the best sense of the term, and before long they will find that they have educated examiners as well as examinees. I have, &c, The Board of Governors, Girls' High School, Christchurch. F W Haslam.

4. Bepoet of the Examinee in French. TheoUGHOut the school the translations from French into English are very good indeed. Whilst the upper classes (VI. and V ) are remarkably well grounded in grammar all the other classes show a fair knowledge of this subject as far as they have gone. As might be expected, from the great difficulty of the subject, the translations from English into French are not equal to those from French into English. Too much care cannot be bestowed on these translations. Chables Tueeell, Examiner

5. Bepoet of the Examinee in Gbeman. The translations from German into English are very good indeed, a large percentage of the marks being obtained by almost all those examined. The exercises, German writing, and knowledge of grammar are not satisfactory at the same time it must be recollected that German is a very difficult language, and that the girls have not learnt it very long. 14th December , ; 1883; Chables Tueeell, Examiner

6. Bepobt of the Examinee in Science. Sib,— Christchurch, 17th December, 1883. I have the honour to report on the science work of the Girls' High School. The duty is a pleasant one, the work done being of very singular excellence. The classes examined were as follows Classes 111., IV., V., and VI., in botany and human physiology Classes 111. and IV were also examined in physics. The work in botany and physiology shows remarkable evenness throughout each of the classes, and speaks well for the careful supervision of the teacher When I received the syllabus of work done I thought it rather limited, but the thoroughness with which this was done, and the broad way in which each part has been treated, fully compensate for the apparent narrowness. Many of the papers on physics were exceedingly well done, but they were not so even throughout as the botanical papers. This is partly the result of the mode of teaching adopted, that is, in large lecture classes such lectures require to be supplemented by class teaching. But, on the other hand, it must be remembered that physics appeal much more directly to the inductive faculties than the other subjects, and have consequently a tendency to eliminate the more acute intellects, so that under the Very best circumstances this subject will be much more uneven than the natural sciences. I should advise that the general principles of elementary science should be taught next year—such notions as combustion, chemical decomposition, evaporation, pressure of air and level of water, force, inertia, momentum, &c.—every*day matters that must be known if the teaching of physical geography and vegetable and animal physiology, is to be at all satisfactorily done. Before commencing, the teacher must be thoroughly aware that these notions will be much more difficult to teach than the names of the parts of a flower, and will have to face the further difficulty that the progress of the several members of the class will be very different some will understand at once, others perhaps not at all. Yet she must feel encouraged that this work, differing as it does so completely from other school work, is cultivating an important side of their faculties which the other does not. The only fault I observed throughout was the tendency on the part of a few of the girls, to substitute mere verbal answers for answers showing a clear appreciation of the matter A course of elementary science would tend to correct this fault. It is impossible to answer a well-set physics paper by verbal memory only—the mental perception must be present, and this the pupils quickly find out under a good teacher I cannot conclude this report without referring to one pleasant and very unusual fact that forces itself upon the examiner it is the very apt power of expression possessed by the pupils. Even those of the Third Glass (the youngest examined in science) express themselves in the clearest and freshest manner , every scrap of information on the subject of the question the pupil possesses appears to be given, and to fit easily into the answer ; and yet there are very few waste words. Too much praise cannot be given for the excellence of tho composition. Taken altogether and considering the limited time devoted to the subject, the science papers reflect great credit upon the school. I append a list of marks obtained in each class. I have, &c, The Chairman, Board of Governors, Canterbury College. A. W Bickebtos;