E.—l.

IS. FREE PLACES IN POST - PRIMARY SCHOOLS. The following table gives the number of free-place holders in post-primary schools in 1931 and 1932 : —

Table R.—Free-place Holders as at 1st July.

Of the 31,331 children in attendance in 1932 at public schools providing secondary education, 30,934 held free places and 397 were paying pupils. Ninety-nine per cent, of the children were thus receiving free secondary education. In 1931 411 out of the 31,053 children in attendance were paying pupils. The percentage of children receiving free education in 1932 remained the same as that of the previous year. 19. SPECIAL CLASSES FOR BACKWARD CHILDREN. No new special classes have been opened. Those in existence have continued' to do good work. Careful records have been kept of the pupils leaving special classes for backward children at or above the age of fourteen, and the following information is available : — Per Cent. Transferred to technical classes for further instruction .. .. 2 Usefully employed at home .. .. .. .. .. 26 In! part-time employment .. .. .. .. ..12 In full L time employment .. .. .. .. .. 40 Unemployed .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 20 In view of the present economic position these figures are very satisfactory. In order to make quite sure of their value, a second investigation was made as to the present position of other backward children who had not had the benefit of special-class tuition. The percentage of unemployed proved to be very much higher than in the special-class group. It would appear, therefore, that these classed are fully justifying their existence. 20. JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS AND DEPARTMENTS. A't the end of this year there were eleven junior high schools and departments, one additional to last year. This was the Waihi Junior High School department attached to the district high school already in existence at that town. This constituted a distinct type from those already in operation, the preparatory to Standard IV classes being accommodated elsewhere. The other schools in operation remained as- in the previous year, except that at Otahuhu. This school is now regarded as a technical high school with a junior-high-school department attached. During the latter months of the year arrangements were being made for the opening of intermediate schools at Napier and Wanganui, as well as for an intermediate department attached to the West Christchurcb District High School. The pupils in preparatory to Standard IV classes in the last-mentioned school will be transferred to neighbouring schools, thus West Christchurch will have the same classes as Waihi. The word "intermediate" will now become general in its use when applied to these schools, in substitution for the words " junior high," this change having; been effected by legislation passed in the last session of Parliament. In addition to this change, others were made in the new regulations, mainly in the direction of meeting difficulties which had arisen in applying the old regulations to the different types of schools and departments which have been established or opened since their issue. There were 2,759 pupils on the rolls of junior high schools and departments at the end of 1932, as compared with 2,689 pupils at the end of the previous year.

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Secondary Combined High and Departments J J£"? r ,SL U - 0 Schools. Schools. Day of District qSS, qphnn? £wif« Schools. High Schools. Schoola - School. Schools.* Schools. Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. Boys. Girls. Boys. J Girls. Junior free plkees .. 4,5704,339 781 610 3,8282,8891,9271,618 113 103 139 214 52 64 11,410 9,837 Senior free plkces .. 3,286 2,314 453 297 1,144 827 8*11 637 .. .. 17 17 4 .. 5,715 4,092 Totals ... ... 7,8566,653 1,234 907 4,972 3,716 2,738 2,255| 113 103 156 231 56 64 17,12513,929 Grand totals, 1932 14,509 2?141 8?688 ~216 ~~m 120 31,054 Graridttotals, 1931 16,226 461 8,418 5,223 314 320 143 31,105 Difference .. -1,717 +1,680 +270 -230 -98 +67 -23 -51