30

E.—l'2

places are held by boys who qualify for matriculation, or who pass the Junior Civil Service with credit if over sixteen, or the Senior Free Place Examination if under that age. One remarkable result of the system is the filling-out of the upper part of the school. This will be apparent from the following table, showing the numbers in our Upper Sixth, Lower Sixth, Upper Fifth, and Lower Fifth classes in the years 1904, 1905, 1906, and 1907. In the two latter years the school began to adopt the senior-free-place system. 1904. 1905. 190b. 1907. Upper Sixth ... ... 11 8 10 11 Lower Sixth ... ... ... ... 9 13 15 18 Upper Fifth ... ... ... ... 27 23 24 27 Lower Fifth ... ... ... ... 18 25 28 32 The numbers in these four classes (for mathematics and science) are likely to be still larger in 1908. This is at it should be in a school giving secondary education proper. The specimens of drawing and woodwork at the recent Exhibition obtained distinction, especially the woodwork. At the special request of the Nelson Education Board, the woodwork exhibits were sent to Nelson, to be placed in their school museum. In the examinations of December, 1906, 5 boys sat for Junior University Scholarships—l obtained a Junior University Scholarship, 2 obtained National Scholarships, a fourth passed with credit, and a fifth qualified for Matriculation; 25 boys sat for Matriculation—l 9 passed and 6 failed; 34 boys entered for Junior Civil Service, and Senior Free Place Examinations—3o passed (24 with credit) and 4 failed; 2 boys passed the Senior Civil Service, 1 with distinction. The total number of boys examined by these examinations (University and Government) in December, 1905, was 32, as against 59 in December, 1906. Influenza has greatly interfered with the school-work in the latter part of the year. A notable distinction of the school has been the inclusion in the members of the recent scientific expedition to the southern islands of two masters of the school staff, Mr. R. M. Laing, M.A., and Mr. R. Speight, B.Sc. During^their absence suitable substitutes were found. There has been a large increase this year in the provision of bench accommodation for practical chemistry, nearly double the number taking it in 1907 as compared with 1906. The Old Boys have so far raised .£550 towards the cost of a new gymnasium; they hope to approach .£6OO, up to which limit the Government has promised a pound-for-pound subsidy. The Board of Governors will pay the balance of the cost. Tenders are now being called for. Among distinctions won by old boys in 1907 are the following: J. G. Lancaster, M.Sc, University of New Zealand; J. S. Monro and L. Hopkins, LL.B., University of New Zealand; J. -A. Bartrum, B.Sc. and Senior University Scholarship in Physics; C. A. Cotton, B.Sc. and Sir George Grey Scholarship; two passed London Matriculation; five obtained the degree of M.8., Ch.B., New Zealand University. I think the Education Department are to be congratulated in having provided a good examination for the middle forms of secondary schools by means of the Junior Civil Service and Free Place Examination; the University provides a test for the higher forms. Thus in great measure the old problem of providing for the examination of secondary schools has been solved. I am of opinion that admission to junior free places is too easy, and that qualifications 2d and 2e should be abolished as regards secondary schools. 17th December, 1907. C. E. Bevan-Brown. 2. Work of the Highest and Lowest Classes. Highest. —Latin —Cornelius Nepos, Lives of Miltiades and Epaminondas (Blackie and Co.); selected from Book XXI, Trayes (Bell and Co.); Horace, Odes, Book I, Macmillan's Elementary Classics; Epistles (Macmillan); selections, Ovid, Metamorphoses (Bell and Co.); Bradley's Arnold; Bradley's Aids to Latin Prose; Kennedy's Revised Latin Primer; Gepp and Haigh's Latin Dictionary; Robinson's First History of the Romans; Rivington's Class-book of Latin, Unseen, Book VI. English—Hamlet, Warwick Shakespeare (Blackie); Palgrave's Golden. Treasury ; Chaucer, Prologue (Blackie); Macaulay's First Chapter (Blackie); Nesfield's Manual; Nesfield's Historical English; Essays from De Quincey (Blackie); Outline English Literature, Meiklejohn (Holden and Co.). French —Les Burgraves, Hugo (Pitt Press); Advanced French Composition, Duhamel (Rivingtons); Contes Choisis, Siepmann, by Copp£e (Macmillan); Longmans' Advanced French, Unseen (Bertenshaw). Mathematics —Borchardt and Perrot's Trigonometry ; Todhunter and Loney's Algebra; Elements of Applied Mathematics (Jessop, Bell); Hall and Stevens's School Geometry, Parts I to VI (Macmillan); Hogben's Trigonometry Tables; Pendlebury's Arithmetic. Science —Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (Theoretical) (Bailey, London, W. B. Clive). Gymnastics, Scripture, Greeks Lowest. —Latin—Elementa Latina (to end of Active Verbs); Scafce Primee; Shorter Latin Primer (for revision of verbs). English —Ivanhoe, abridged (Longmans); Lyra Heroica (The Revenge; &c.);. Nesfield's Outlines;, parsing, notes; dictation, composition, parsing, analysis (four forms of predicate and easy subordinate clauses); also one of the sixpemjy. editions in Lower IV list to be read at home per term. History —First Book of British History (Tout); Longmans' Historical Series for Schools, Book I. Geography —Longmans' Geographical Series, Book II; Mathematical and Physical Geography. French —Siepmann's Primary French Course, first year, oral French. Mathematics —New School Arithmetic; Pendlebury's (Bell and Sons), without answers; Tots and Mental Arithmetic; Practical Exercises in Geometry (Eggar, Macmillan). Nature-study—Miall's Object-lessons, Vol. i. Art —Same as Lower 111, but more advanced, and with addition of elementary model-drawing. Writing—Twice a week. Gymnasium —Two lessons a week. Singing— Twice a week. Scripture.