E.—s

62

Owing to changes in the staff the classes at Havelock did not proceed. Classes were instituted at Picton in English, arithmetic, and brush drawing. A number of pupils in these classes held during 1906 passed the examinations for Civil Service Junior and Civil Service Senior, in whole or part. Marlborough High School provided classes in woodwork and cookery. The total enrolment at cookery and woodwork classes of all descriptions was 209 and 152 respectively: total, 361. The average attendance was 139 and 112. In estimating these attendances it must be remembered that they include pupils some of whom have to walk two miles from their school to the technical school. Others come by train eighteen miles, and still others are country teachers who have more or fewer miles to traverse before reaching the train. We propose to hold a wood-carving and, if possible, a model-drawing class during 1908. Statemeitt of Receipts and Expenditure for the Tear ending Slst December, 1907, in respect of Special Classes conducted at Blenheim, Canvastown, Havelock, and Picton Receipts. £ s. d. i Expenditure. £ s. d. Balance at beginning of year .. .. 94 11 1 j Salaries of instructors .. .. .. 113 19 1 Capitation on speoial classes .. .. 51 5 8 Advertising and printing.. .. .. 4 9 5 Capitation on account of free places .. 10 5 9 Lighting and heating .. .. .. 311 3 Furniture, fittings, and apparatus .. 4 0 0 Material for class use .. .. .. 11 14 1 Fees .. .. .. .. .. 26 19 0 Cleaning .. .. .. .. 5 111 Contracts (new buildings, additions, &o.) .. 12 13 4 Architect, &o. .. .. .. .. 017 6 Balance at end of year .. .. .. 34 14 11 £187 1 6 £187 1 6 E. Hylton, Secretary.

NELSON. Extract from the Report of the Education Board. Great advances have been made in the district in regard to this important branch of education. The Nelson Technical School has been well supported during the year. Technical and school classes in agricultural chemistry and elementary agriculture, woodwork, cookery, and dressmaking have been held in some of the country centres; while in a large number of the public schools manual instruction has been carried on with every success. An exhibition of Technical School and publicschool pupils' work, held in Nelson in December last, gave a splendid idea of the value of this important branch of education. During the year the Inspectors were appointed Superintendents of Manual and Technical Instruction, and the Board now takes this opportunity of expressing its appreciation of the very efficient manner in which they have carried out their duties. This remark also applies to the local Superintendents at Reefton and Westport. Owing to the great increase of work in this Department the Board has now appointed a Director of Technical Schools. The new building at Wakefield for technical classes was completed at the beginning of the year, and has proved suitable in every respect for its purpose. The Board regrets that up to the present the Department has not seen its way to authorise the erection of a similar building at Motueka, where equal demands seem to exist. A new building for technical classes at Westport has now been authorised, and plans are being prepared by the Board's Architect. Extract from the Report of the Inspectors of Schools. Handwork. —Handwork has been taken in forty-six schools, for the most part in a very satisfactory manner. A variety of branches has been undertaken, the chief being plasticine modelling, taught in twenty-seven schools; elementary agriculture, in twenty-six; elementary physiology, in fifteen; brush drawing, in twelve; and paper-folding, free-arm drawing, bricklaying, modelling in carton, and elementary physical measurements, in lesser numbers. These subjects of instruction have all been solely undertaken by the permanent teachers, with the exception of elemental- y agriculture, more fully referred to in another part of the report, which has been under the direction of a special instructor. Classes for cookery, dressmaking, and woodwork were also held at the larger centres. The number of pupils under instruction was —For cookery, 338 ; for dressmaking, 290; and for woodwork, 286. A considerable extension of this branch of work has been made during the year, chiefly in the way of placing the facilities offered by our present technical schools within reach of schools in the adjoining neighbourhood. In making such arrangements we have carefully considered the interruption and loss of time in the ordinary school-work. To this end we have so organized the classes that pupils from all schools in the vicinity attend the Wakefield Technical School once a week for instruction in cookery, woodwork, and dressmaking ; while the boys from Stoke, and Richmond likewise attend the Technical School in Nelson for woodwork, and the girls are taught cookery and dressmaking at Richmond. The classes of boys and girls from any one school are away from it only one half-day each week, so that by this arrangement but little more school-time is occupied than if the pupils were instructed in their own schools. Dressmaking classes were inaugurated at Motueka, but want of a suitable building prevented any other technical classes being formed. When rooms have been provided at Westport we hope to see such an extension of the school classes in technical subjects as we have recorded above. Classes for the instruction of teachers were again held in Nelson and Westport, the subjects taken up including drawing in its different branches, elementary geology, carton-work, cookery, woodwork, elementary botany, physics, chemistry, mathematics, and elementary physiology.