CONSOLIDATION

MARLBOROUGH MOVE

SEVERAL SCHOOLS CLOSED

(By Tcicgrapli.) (Special to tho "Evening Post.")

BLENHEIM, This Day.

As a result of consultations between the Marlboroug'h representatives ,oa the Wellington Education Board and the parents of children attending several of the country schools in the district, the policy of consolidation introduced by the Minister of Education (the Hon. P. Fraser) is to be brought into effect in the Ward, Seddon, and Rai Valley districts.

In the Ward district two small schools have already been closed, the pupils being conveyed to the Ward School by motor-bus, and in the Seddon and Rai Valley districts several schools will be closed as from the beginning of the new school year. At Rai Valley the schools affected will be those at Opouri, Pelorus Bridge, Ronga, and Carluke. Pupils at present attending the schools mentioned will be conveyed to Rai Valley School by three separate bus services, one for Pelorus Bridge, one for Opouri, and one for Ronga and Carluke. The attendance roll of the Rai Valley School will thus increase from 37 to 122. The provision of extra accommodation at Rai Valley will be necessary, and a building programme will shortly be put into operation, the intention being to build along open-air lines as far as possible.

Taimate and Mirza Schools, in the Ward district, have already been closed. The pupils are being brought into the Ward School by two motor-bus services.

It is Intended to adopt the consolidation policy to a further degree in one area in the Seddon district. Seaview, Marama, Blind River, Grassmere, and Tetley Brook Schools will be closed as from the beginning of the new school year. The attendance rolls at Ward and Seddon Schools will be increased from 86 to 111 and from 91 to 145 respectively. Education Board representatives commented that in a very great majority of cases parents appeared to agree with the Minister and the Wellington Education Board, which was strongly in favour of the scheme. The policy had been in operation in a number of districts in the North Island, and a start had also been made in Canterbury. This was the first occasion that anything of the kind had been attempted in Marlborough.