HIGH SCHOOL.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 2732, 30 July 1915, Page 7

HIGH SCHOOL.

A RETROSPECTIVE STATEMENT.

STEADY PROGRESS MADE

At the monthly meeting of the Ashbiuton High School Board of Governors on Tuesday last the chairman (Mr J. Tucker) made the following statement: —

"As this is the last meeting of the Board as at present constituted, I think it .only right that 1 should indulge in ,a. short retrospect of the work accomplished during the time I have been a member—since the year 1907. When I joined the Board, it had just completed the building of the present new School, and was directing all its energies towards the acquisition of a much-needed largo class room and a scionco room, but, with the overdraft standing at £1500, and the Department turning a deaf ear to its cry, all its efforts seemed likely to bo in vain, when Mr Hugo Friedlander, with characteristic public spirit, and by his own generosity and his influence on tho generosity of others (Messrs J. Grigg, J. Studholme, Buckley, T. Bullock, t and others) succeeded in obtaining a ! sum of money which, with a GovernI ment subsidy, secured for the School the present fine assembly room and the science room, the latter being provided by a Government grant of £600. At the same time the first fives court was erected. Just at this time, the macro- \ carpa hedge began to die out, the post and wire fence to fall into disrepair, \ and the School grounds to be open to all and sundry, and to get beyond the control of our custodian. After care- j fully studying the provisions of the Act relating to improvements to the School property, I asked Mr W. F. Watters (headmaster) to prepare a statement .showing the approximate results if the ' Board were to embark on an extensive improvement policy. This statement be-* ing deemed satisfactory as a basis of operations, the Board began its improvement scheme by purchasing at a cost of £25 from tho Ashburton Borough Council soil for filling up six and a-half chains along the edge of the deep gully in "William Street.and tho East Belt, so as to get a fence line. It then removed, the pinus insignis trees and levelled the grounds front-.' fng'Oass.Street at a cost of £95. Twenty chains of iron fencing, costing £140, wore then erected, two tennis courts were laid down, and a large area of paths and ground asphalted at a cost of £180. The fence line having been consolidated on the East Belt and William Street, the Board resolved, to fence off the football grounds and removo the remaining trees, tho cost of erecting 15 chains of fonco, and of the removal of tho trees, being about £130. Many ornamental English and other trees and shrubs wore planted to take the place of the troes removed.

" The Board . then took in hand the filling ud of .'ibout hfilf-an-aere of the deep gully along William St-roob, tho plantation of. pinus insignis 'troos in which had to. he .removed. This work, which is now nearing completion, has \ip to tho present cost some £150. Part of thiß hitherto unsightly area is now occupied by the excellent School concrete swimming baths. The next work undertaken was the erection of tho iron picket fence in/front of the School, and the laying-out of the lawns and croquet grounds. " Some three or four years ago the Board resumed from the Technical School Board, at a cost of £150, the leas-o of the Old School Building, part of which has been converted into a gymnasium, the remainder being now the home of the domestic science side of the School. Up-to-date latrines, costing £375 .have been erected, nnd we have recently completed the new rectory which, with furnishings, has cost £4300. For nearly three years the Board has worked hard to have established on its .property adjacent to the School, an agricultural experimental station, which is. now, I am pleased to say, within mea-sureable distance of being an accomplished fact. .1 trust that, we shall shortly see it in full operation a,s an agricultural adjunct to our High School. 1 understand that the Board of Agriculture contemplates tho working of the School as an Agricultural High School, and encouraging the study of scientific agriculture by means "f a'JT'V.ult-iim! scholarships, _on the line* of university scholarships. I should mention that considerable assistance in the carrying out of our improvements has been given by the efforts of the School pupils who .directly or indirectly, have raised over £1000 for the School.

"From this brief .statement you will see that the Board has made the School property and. grounds a credit to tho district, justT as I am proud to say tli.it Mr Waiters and his assistants, have made it a credit on the "educational side. In conclusion, I have to thank the various members of the , Board, past and present, for tho. hearty support they have given me during my chairmanship, and Mr J. Davison, our secretary, for his faithful nnd efficient services! T trust, and have no doubt that the newly-elected -members will be anirtia'tbd by the same progressive snirit as ha-s animated their .predecessors." .