E.—2.

Appendix C]

and have made a point of seeing that the provisions of the schemes have been carried out in every department of the school. Many of the assistant teachers prepare excellent schemes of work, by which, after the contents are brought by the head teachers into harmony with the recognized ideals of the school, their own initiative and originality are preserved. Head teachers, assistants, and pupilteachers have prepared daily lesson-books that would pass muster anywhere. Many of the schemes of work are now so good that the Inspectors are willing to indorse them as being of permanent worth, provided that at the close of each year notes are appended indicating how, in the light of experience, they might be amplified or modified to secure their greater usefulness. The problems of school discipline are to a great extent solved by the school organization and the school environment, the former providing for the playing of organized games, and the latter inviting attention to the schoolgarden, the school-grounds, and the school-interior. The pupils are so well occupied that they have no time to get out of hand. We have some misgivings regarding the teachers' treatment of the legitimate claims of scholarship. In our schools there is to be found all the year round in one or more of the classes a varying number of more or less brilliant pupils. We have reason to fear that the claims of these pupils to special attention and special advancement are often overlooked. Take, for instance, the Alf. Bayly Scholarship : the number of pupils presented for it in south Taranaki is entirely disproportionate to the number of pupils in the schools. Nor do the Board and National Scholarships fare much better in schools of Grade IV and under. Some of the candidates qualify by the skin of their teeth, so to speak, or fail altogether; and so scholarship-money, and the reward of scholarship, which is better than money, are lost to the district. It is a question whether it would not be in the best interests of education that the proficiency certificate and the Junior Scholarships, Board and National, should be awarded on the results of the Junior Free Place Examination. The inducement to " cram " would thus be minimized, as would also the overlapping evil. It is not often that teachers find time for original research in connexion with their daily work, but Mr. Adams, head teacher of the Mangaweka School, carried out during the year some interesting experiments in connexion with his school classes and the Saturday training-classes held at that centre. The investigations involved a vast amount of patient labour, and the results are extremely interesting. We trust that Mr. Adams will see his way clear to let us have a complete account of the experiments, so that it may be placed in the hands of every teacher. As in former years, we gladly recognize the hard work and honesty of purpose of our teachers, many of whom render to the State services very inadequately requited.

STATISTICAL APPENDIX. Table Ia.

Table Ib. The following are the numbers from the eleven Roman Catholic schools :—

XI

Classes. Number on Present at the j Average Ages ; Roll at Annual Annual of Pupils in j Examination. Examination. ' each Class. i standard VII VI ... V ... IV III II ... I ... Preparatory Yrs. mos. 227 199 14 11 954 901 14 0 1,311 1,276 13 2 1,588 1,555 12 4 1,691 1,647 11 5 1,877 1,814 10 5 1,893 1,814 9 5 5,742 5,275 7 2 Totals 15,283 14,481 9 11

Classes. Numbsr on Roll at Annual Examination. Present at the Annual Examination. Average Ages of Pupils in each Class. Standard VII VI v IV III II I 'reparatory r i ".. [ ... 13 93 69 102 117 112 117 432 11 88 65 98 109 108 105 386 Yrs. mos. 14 11 14 1 13 6 12 5 11 5 10 3 9 2 6 11 Totals 1,055 970 9 10