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It is proposed during the coming year to group typewriting, shorthand, and book-keeping, thus forming a commercial course, and enabling an afternoon class to be formed for the benefit of the country students coming by train. Dressmaking will also be taught in the afternoon. New classes for next year will probably be wool-classing, photography, and wood-carving. In conclusion, the managers solicit the hearty co-operation of all residents in the district, and trust that with a new year a large number of fresh pupils will be enrolled, and that ere long the benefit of technical education will be felt and appreciated. They will gladly welcome suggestions from intending pupils desiring instruction in any subject not at present taught, and if a sufficient number of pupils be forthcoming, will gladly make arrangements for the engagement of a competent teacher for that subject. H. M. Miles, Chairman.

OTAGO. Extract from the Report of the Education Board. Classes in elementary handwork have been held during the year in connection with twenty-one schools. Cookery and woodwork classes have been held in connection with several schools, including the Dunedin City and suburban schools and the Oamaru schools. Cottage gardening has been taught at seventeen country schools, and swimming at four schools. The programmes,of instruction followed by all of these classes have been approved by the Department, and the capitation earned has been applied to the purchase of the material used and to the payment of the instructors where these were not on the ordinary staff of the school. The cookery and woodwork classes in connection with the Dunedin and suburban schools have been held at the Dunedin Technical School, and the classes in Oamaru in the same subjects have been held at the Middle School. The drawback to the Central School system of instruction is, of course, the time consumed by the pupils in travelling to and from the place of instruction, but at present this is the only method of instruction in these subjects that it is possible to adopt. The Board trusts, in the near future, to be able to erect in the suburbs one or more buildings for woodwork and cookery classes. During the year the Technical School at Port Chalmers was completed, and classes for woodwork and cookery will be started there at the beginning of 1904. A grant for rooms for similar classes at Kaitangata has been promised by the Department, and plans for the building are now being prepared. Needlework instruction has been given to the girls of twenty-nine of the schools that have an average attendance below forty-one. The rate of capitation allowed by the Department is 10s. per unit of the average attendance ; but this rate does not permit of the teacher receiving fair remuneration for the work done. In quite a number of cases it has been most difficult to obtain the services of a suitable teacher, and, in some districts, no needlework is taught owing to the lack of a teacher. Special classes for instruction of teachers in woodwork and cookery were held during the year and were very well attended. Thirty of the Board's female teachers sat for the London City and Guilds Examination in Plain Cookery in the month of May, and all were successful in passing the examination, fourteen obtaining first-class and sixteen second-class certificates. Fifteen of the Board's male teachers purpose sitting for the London City and Guilds Examination in Woodwork this year. Other successes in connection with the Institute's examinations were as follows : Plumbers' work — Preliminary, 1 pass ; honours, 1 second-class pass. Electric lighting—Preliminary, 1 pass. Wiremen's work —1 second-class pass. Telegraphy and telephony—Ordinary, 1 pass. Mechanical Engineering— Ordinary, Part 1., 2 passes ; Part 11., 1 first-class pass, 3 second-class passes : honours, 2 second-class passes. Extract from the Report of the Inspectors of Schools. Handwork now forms an integral part of the work of a considerable number of schools ; and great praise is due to the teachers for the efforts they have made, often at no small personal inconvenience, to qualify themselves to give instruction in the new kinds of work prescribed by the Department. Much of the work done in the schools is of creditable quality, and we consider that the cottagegardening classes, the woodwork classes, and the cookery classes are so far a decided success. During the year fourteen teachers gained first-class and sixteen second-class certificates in cookery, and a large number of teachers are now preparing for examination in cookery and woodwork. The rooms in which the pupils and teachers have to work are entirely unsuitable. We would therefore urge upon the Board the necessity for proceeding with the erection of the rooms that were designed some time ago. Extract from the Report of the Principal of the School of Art and Design. During the period over which this report extends —viz., from the 4th February to the 22nd December —the nujnber of students who received instruction was 386. This included 51 teachers and pupilteachers, 24 students from the Training College, 86 students who attended the day classes, 157 students who attended the evening classes, and 68 teachers and pupil-teachers who attended the Saturday classes. The usual classes for elementary and advanced freehand and model drawing, and for light and shade were held throughout the year. The work comprised outline drawing from models, familiar objects, and ornament from the cast, light and shade of ornament from the cast, from the antique, and from life. The course of work in painting was very similar to that of last year, and consisted of brushwork, painting in monochrome from the cast, colour studies from groups of still life, painting flowers from nature, painting from life, and landscape painting from nature, once a week, when the weather proved favourable. As regards modelling, the elementary students worked from simple casts of ornament,