XXIX

Appendix C.j

E.—<i.

School Buildings and Grounds. —The buildings, fences, &c, are generally in satisfactory condition, and in the majority of cases the rooms are clean and well kept. This is to be taken, however, as indicating no more than that the mere minimum requirements as to school premises are being attended to, and one cannot help feeling that something more is greatly to be desired. In this connexion it may not be out of place to quote some of the remarks of the Inspector-General of Schools in his opening address at the conference of Inspectors last year : — " There is one more aspect of the modern movement in education ... to which I would call your attention for a moment. It is that the school should be viewed,as a part of the society in which we live. We should make much more of our schools if in each locality the school was regarded as an essential feature of human life in the neighbourhood—as much as the farm, or the shop, or the bank, or the home—children, parents, teachers all working together for the common good. . . . Would not our country teachers find a grand mission, a glorious broadening of their work and interests, in the endeavour to make the school a centre of light and brightness which should illumine the drudgery and pettiness of everyday life in the backblocks? Some are, no doubt, doing some work of this kind already: may their tribe increase! " As a movement towards the realization of such an ideal, something might be done to bring about an improvement in the surroundings of the school. The Inspectors of one district report that it is quite a common thing for parents to form " working-bees " for the purpose of carrying out improvement work in the school-grounds. Possibly something of the kind could be done in this district. Very few of our schools have a garden of any kind, and practically no tree-planting has been done. This, I think, is mainly due to the fact that the preparatory work on the grounds is beyond the powers of the children. To meet the requirements of the new syllabus it will be necessary to make provision for wall-boards in the many schools not yet so equipped, and it is recommended that all desks supplied to meet increases of attendance or to replace old furniture should be either single or dual desks. Secondary Education. —[See E.-6, Report on Secondary Education.] Teachers' Glasses. —During the year teachers' Saturday classes were held for physical science and instrumental drawing and handwork. A winter school for teachers was held during the mid-year vacation, the subjects taken being ambulance and first aid, free drawing, handwork, and vocal music. All these classes were well attended, particularly by teachers from distant schools, and much useful work was done. Several uncertificated teachers took advantage of the provision made for tuition by correspondence in preparation for the D examination. I have, &c, The Chairman, Grey Education Board. Wμ. S. Austin, Inspector.

WESTLAND. Sir, — Education Office, Hokitika, 28th January, 1914. I have the honour to present a report on the schools of the district for the year 1913. A summary of the numbers and average age of the pupils at the end of the school year is supplied in the following table. Of the pupils in standards, twenty-two received instruction in a lower standard in arithmetic.

The attendance of the scholars continues to be very regular, the average attendance being 90"2 per cent, of the average roll number. The Board has provided.special prizes, five in number, to pupils that have attended without missing a half-day during five or more years of their sohool life. While the value of certificates and prizes has been questioned on the ground that the incentive is experienced only by a few fortunate pupils, the award of them affords one proof that school life is appreciated. The number of half-days on which the schools have been open has, in schools of Grade IV and upwards, ranged from 411 to 422. In the schools under sole teachers three were open on more than 430 half-days, while seven continued on less than 400 half-days. There

Classes. Number on Roll. Present at the Average Age of Annual Pupils Examination, in each Glass. Itandard YII VI v IV III II I 'reparatory it62 77 95 132 119 125 138 50L 60 75 92 127 116 122 136 486 Yrs. mos. 14 8 13 8 12 10 12 1 11 2 fc9 10 F8 8 -.6 6 Totals 1,249 1,214 1,214 j 9 5* * Mean of average a ige.