A.—3

23

English.—Though the time spent teaching this subject has been curtailed, the standard of oral and written English remains unchanged. There is practically no demand for English outside of the school, and nowhere excepting in the two Government schools (and consequentlyronly in two villages) is any serious attempt made to teach the language, or is any English understood. In the absence of any compulsory use of English in the general life of the island, the children get no practice in speaking the language, and naturally fall back on their own tongue for all purposes. In consequence, progress beyond a certain point useful in school is laboured, and under present conditions additional time spent on the subject would not be repaid by results. Writing. —This subject is good throughout. In the senior classes the children have been encouraged to develop their own style of writing, with very pleasing results. The work is extremely neat and clear. Drawing. —The instruction given in the teachers' classes on new methods, and the practical work done there has borne fruit. The old idea of drawings being made on the black-board and copied by the children has been entirely cut out, and replaced by the children making their own drawings direct from the actual flowers, leaves, fruit, and other objects. The introduction of surface-treatment by pencil shading, pen-and-ink, or coloured washes has resulted in increased interest on the part of the children, with a correspondingly rapid advance in the quality of the work. By these means the child is forced to rely on his own observations and to use his own judgment instead of merely copying the teacher's work. At Hakupu School, where' these methods have been used for the past four years, exceptionally good work is being done in freehand and design, the latter work being correlated with the Native handicraft. At Tufukia some very good work has been accomplished in ruler drawings of the objects made in the woodwork classes. Native Handicraft. Handicraft. —At Hakupu this subject is excellent. At Tufukia the progress is slow, but evident. No Native handicraft is done in this village, consequently the children get no practice or opportunity to apply the lessons they learn at school, neither is there any interest on the part of the children or parents. The work this year has been devoted to hatmaking for the seniors and soft-basket making for the juniors. Sewing is showing satisfactory improvement in both schools. The work is neater and cleaner in appearance. The decorative effects of coloured designs and drawn-thread work are greatly appreciated by the Native, and the children readily grasped the ideas and quickly made use of their own designs. At Hakupu the senior girls organized a sewing-bee, and raised funds towards their sports and prizemoneys. Woodwork. —Very good work is being done at the Technical School. These classes have been placed in the hands of the most competent of the Native teachers, and the results this year are very creditable. Beds, tables, and deck-chairs are the commonest articles made and sold. The classes which have previously been confined to Tufukia boys were this year extended to include the senior boys of Hakupu School. Health. —This is one of the most important subjects of the schools, and receives regular attention in all classes. This year special lessons have been given to the teachers, who in turn pass on the information in the form of weekly lessons to each class. These lessons are given in the vernacular in order that the fullest comprehension may be gained by what is being taught. The children are compelled to put most of the theories taught into practical form by keeping themselves, desks, rooms, and grounds clean and tidy. The children are inspected every day, all those needing medical attention being sent direct to the hospital for treatment. Gardening.—As stated in previous reports, this is an extremely difficult subject from which to get useful results, chiefly owing to the scarcity of soil, especially at Tufukia. The section of land placed at our disposal has been thoroughly cleaned up. The coconuts have been thinned out and the bush felled to make room for a banana-plantation. The land is not very suitable for cultivation, but over forty plants have been put in, as well as some sugar-cane and ta.ro. At Hakupu, an additional section of land has been cleared, burned, and planted with taro, while a portion of the residence-grounds has been planted in tobacco. Drill and Games. —Drill and games form part of the daily work of the school, and a special period is set apart each week for organized games in each class. Funds have been raised by concert and other means for the purchase of basket-balls, cricket-balls, boxing-gloves, skipping-ropes, &c., and all the children are keenly busy during play-times. The remaining subjects are all making excellent progress, the standard of work being well up to previous years.