42

E.—s

Woodwork Trade Classes. —These were conducted by Mr. William MoLeod (building-construction and furniture trade drawing) and Mr. E. Miller, assisted by Mr. Caiman (carpentry, joinery, and elementary carpentry). Again the attendance in the building-construction class was exceedingly poor ; but in view of the renewed interest lately evinced by the Builders' Association, and their determination to encourage their apprentices to attend, the prospects of this really useful class are very bright for the coming year. The classes in carpentry and joinery were well attended, and the valuable assistance rendered by Mr. Carman enabled a better programme of work to be carried out than in the previous year. The time is fast approaching when the carpentry workshop will need to be opened three instead of two evenings as at present. The journeymen's and the apprentices' classes in furniture trade drawing were attended by a few students only, but they were among the most enthusiastic students in the school. The work done in these classes proved a revelation to all concerned. The Furniture Makers' Association inspected the work done at the end of-the session and expressed their keen appreciation of what they saw, and promised to give the classes much greater support in the coming year. Plumbing Classes. —These continue to be conducted as efficiently as ever by Mr. John Graham, though the attendance fell a little below that of the previous year, mainly owing to the departure of many of the older students. A new syllabus of work has been drawn up and approved for the coming session. It is hoped in this way to bring the work done more in touch with the requirements of apprentices in plumbing. Practically every apprentice in the trade is attending the classes. "It is, of course, impossible to get the certificate of the New Zealand Plumbing Board without the course of instruction obtained in such a school as ours. Com.pulsory Continuation Classes. —The total number of students attending under'the regulations is 139. lam pleased to say that the work of these classes has been carried on through the year with little or no friction. The attendance, especially among boys, has been good. The same cannot be said in the case of the girls, upon whom no penalty for non-attendance has hitherto been imposed. We have in view a scheme for the coming year whereby formal English and arithmetic will be superseded by subjects more in line with the trade or commercial pursuits of the students. Hitherto we have been under the impression that English and arithmetic, were compulsory. Apparently the Department does not hold this view, and we are glad to be able to remove the bugbear of formal English and arithmetic from the courses of study for compulsory pupils. How far the new arrangement will be successful remains to be seen, for the chief obstacle to its success is the difficulty of obtaining suitable instructors. In addition to classes already mentioned, we held classes during the year in home nursing, firstaid, tailors' cutting, ticket-writing and lettering, Matriculation subjects, and vocal music. With the exception of the classes in tailors' cutting, all these classes were very successful. We hope in the coming year to establish classes in French, Latin, motor-engineering, and electric wiring. Again I take the opportunity of thanking the Press for the liberal manner in which it has granted space for notices of classes and meetings during the, year. My thanks aie also due to Mr. E. H. Clark for his assistance as organizer ; to the members of the Technical Committee for their advice and support; to Mr. Braik, Director of Education ; to the Chairman and members of the Wanganui Education Board for their practical aid during many times of stress, and to Mr. Swanger and other members of the, Board's official simff for assistance and courteous treatment at all times during the year. ■j. Day Technical School. —This completes the third year of activity of the school. Compared with the two previous years, we have in some respects made marked progiess ; but the total enrolment for the year was slightly less than last year, it being 185, as against 190 for 1913. However, owing to more regular attendance among pupils, it is gratifying to know that our capitation earnings will be about £100 in excess of the amount earned last year. A noticeable feature this year is the smaller number of pupils in attendance from country districts. For instance, one only of our agricultural pupils hails from the country. The train-facilities are quite inadequate, and, besides, the want of a boarding-school prevents our receiving many pupils who would otherwise attend.- During the year the school was inspected by Dr. Anderson, Assistant Inspector-General of Schools, and also by Mr. Isaac, Inspector of Technical Education. The former confined his attention mainly to the High School department, and his remarks thereon are distinctly gratifying. The report of Mr. Isaac is hot yet to hand. Altogether five courses of instruction were in operation, viz., general, commercial, engineering, agricultural, and domestic. There was a good enrolment in the first three, but the number of pupils taking the domestic and agricultural courses was very small—too small to allow of sufficient specialized instruction being devoted to these courses. We have in our building the space and equipment to give highly vocational instruction along many lines. All that is needed is a larger number of pupils, so that an addition may be made to our staff of one or two permanent teachers having special qualifications in certain subjects. As things are, teachers are frequently hampered in their work through having, during the same teaching-period, to look after pupils of more than one course, working in widely different subjects. However, lam speaking of difficulties that will disappear as the number of pupils increases. It should be mentioned that the prize presented in January last by the Caledonian Society for the best essay on a subject connected with Scottish history was won by a pupil of this school. I have room for a brief survey only of what I term the field activities. Tennis, hockey, swimming, cricket, and football have all been keenly indulged in, not always with tremendous success, but certainly with enthusiasm. Our playing-area, though limited, is utilized to its utmost capacity. I hope next year to have prepared a small croquet-lawn for the girls, and also to interest some of them at least in basketball. It is rather to be reg etted, for the sake of the girls particularly, that there is no one on the staff able to teach Swedish drill. The annual athletic sports and also the swimming tournament were held