.Appendix 0.1

XXIII

E.—2.

at Toitoi Valley Girls' School with the assistants who are teaching the same classes at the Girls' Central to-day we find the salaries as follow: Then, £72, £72, £48, £48; now, £220, £190. £120, £120.' There were then 101 public schools in the district, with a total roll of 5,842. In the Town of Nelson there were seven separate schools, of which Toitoi Valley (Girls), with 318 pupils, was the largest in the district, Reefton (279) being the second. The total roll of the seven schools, 1,230, was almost the same as at present, 1,247. The children are now grouped into two main schools under independent head teachers, with two side schools attached to each. Two separate schools—one for boys and one for girls —existed at 'Richmond, Wakefield, Charleston, and Westport, the last named also possessing a third independent school, Westport Preparatory. Needless to say one combined school at each of the four centres now represents these nine different schools. As private schools have now come under inspection the total number of schools with which we now have to deal is 133, and the total roll number 7,311. We take especial pride in contemplating the great improvements in regularity of attendance as affording an indication of the increased appreciation shown by both children and parents for our public-school system. The average attendance for the district was only 77 per cent., but is now, as we have previously stated, 90 per cent. [Paragraphs regarding improved communications and travelling not printed.] G. A. Harknkss, 1 T A. Crawford, Inspectors. The Chairman, Nelson Education Board.

GREY. Sir, — Greymouth, Bth April, 1915. I have the honour to present the annual report on the schools of this district for the year 1914. During the year at least two visits of inspection w r ere paid to each school under the administration of the Board, as well as to the five Roman Catholic schools. The following summaries are taken from the Inspector's annual return to the Education Department :-—

Attendance. —Throughout the year there was much sickness in the district, and there was scarcely a school that was not affected thereby. Some were closed at different periods by order of the Health Officer, and there was a general falling-off in attendance, and, consequently, in efficiency. In my report for 191.3 I noted the fact that the percentage of attendance—namely, 904—was a marked improvement on that of previous years. It now appears that this was second only to the Otago percentage, 9LB, which was a record for the Dominion. In 1914, however, mainly because of the prevalent sickness referred to, the percentage fell to 879.

Classes. Number on Roll. Present at the Annual Examination. Average Age of Pupils in eaoh Class. : i BOAED SCHOOLS. Standard VII ... VI V IV Ill II I Preparatory 28 148 188 215 249 . 255 236 752 27 143 177 204 234 244 227 663 Yrs. mos. 15 3 14 0 13 2 12 2 10 11 9 10 8 10 6 6 Totals for 1914 ... Totals for 1913 ... 2,071 2,008 1,919 1,935 9 9 7* 7* Difference + 63 -16 ROMAN CATHOLIC SCHOOLS. Standard VI V ... IV Ill II I Preparatory 49 31 54 70 46 63 240 47 30 50 66 41 59 202 14 2 12 11 12 4 11 4 10 5 9 0 6 6 Totals for 1914 ... Totals for 1913 ... 553 536 495 523 9 5* 9 1* Difference + 17 -28 * Mean of average age.