AUCKLAND COLLEGE AND GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 304, 21 December 1894, Page 2

AUCKLAND COLLEGE AND GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES,

The interest felb in the Auckland College and Grammar School was shown by, tb e large number of parents, scholars, and old scholars who attended to witness the interesting ceremonyof tbe presentation of prizes. The chair was occupiedby-SirG. M. O'Rorke (Chairman of the Board of Governors)., There were also present on the. platform the Hon. Colonel Haultain (vice-chairman), Rev. Canon Nelson, Professor Brown and Messrs R. Udy and Theo. Cooper (members of the Board of Governors), Professors Seager and Thomas, Dr.' King (president of the Old Boys' Association), the headmaster (Mr J. W. Tibbs, MA.), and the obher teachers. The scholars occupied the orchestral benches. During the evening instrumental selections were played by an • orchestra conducted by Air Trevithiclt. In opening the proceedings tho Chairman eaid he was glad to see such a large assemblage gathered to do honour to bhe boys and girls. -They were aboub bo dismiss bhe. boys tor bhe year, and he hoped bhoy would bear with thoin the good wishes of allpreserib bhab evening, and devoto themselve? as fully to the enjoypienb of their holidays aa he hoped they, had during bhe presenb been to bheir studies. (Applause.) The school had done good work during tho 25 years ib had beon established. Referring to bhe quesbion of education bho world over, Sir Maurice said bhere had,, been a deal of rivalry for some timo between the advocates of science, and the advocates for oldfashioned ctilburo.' Anyone . who read the old-fashioned periodicals of tho day would See thab that rivalry was forcing thorn to take into consideration whether the sys : tern of education that had provailed 'so long in the old country was suited to the various countries. Sogreabwaa bhe advance of modern'science, thab it had now become necessary fot'' pareribs to consider whether undue prcferenco.was not given to .tho study of bhe dead languages. The foremost men of tho day held that modern science should be entitled, if nob to bhe foremost placo in.the curriculum,' ab least that ib should have greater prominence than hitherto. The influence of a nation could be meapured by the state of its education. Those in charge of the important duty of looking after bhe education of the people should see bhat opportunities were afforded to boys to pass from tho primary to the secondary schools and bhon on bo the universities. HEADMASTER'S ADDRESS. ' Mr.Tibbs then read tho annual report as follows :— "Mr Chairman and Gentlemen of the Board of Governors,—! have the honour to present:CO you my reporb of bhe work and progress of the School during bhe year thab closes to-day :— r ''Numbers on tho Roll.—ln the nrst place I have to reporb a large increase in the number of pupils. The number on the roll tor the thiee terms of 1893 wero 262, 259 and 263 respectively; for 1894, 343, 33S and 3J6 for corresponding terms. Thus we have 83 more boys and girls in the school now than wo bad ab tho end of last year. Tho number ot boys as presenb is 191, and of girls 155. At the beginning of tho first term ofthe year 78 new boys and ")8 new girls were admitted.'. The increase has been mainly in the middle and lower part of the school. Tha sixth form contains 13 on the boy 9' side and 9on the girls' ; the fifth form 7 and 13 respectively. These forms coneisb to a largo extent of thoso who havo gained senior district and foundation scholarships, arid are staying on with a viow bo work' for university scholarships. It is much to be Tegr?ctcd" that the pinch.of hard time? on the one 'hand, and on the other hand a disposition oii tho pare of patents to prist their children out early into the world, anil to make them shift for themselves, deprive majiy a boy or girl of whab should be the- most valuable two years- of the wholo school career, when they would have the beneht of tho higher teaching of our fifth and sixth forms. In marked contrast with the small numbers of the two highest forma on each side is the fulness of every other form in bhe school, two on the boys' side contain 27 eacih, two more 34 each, and the special form 49 ; while the tivo forms on tho girls' side contain between 2Q and 30 each.. For the information of the Board I wish to explain thab a" special form on each sido is made up ab-tho beginning of each year into which i»re placed all tho new scholars, and others from bhe sixth and fifth standards of the districb'achoolsi In their case rather more time is given to Labin, French, and mathematics than in the rest of the lower school, the objecb being to bring them as far aB possible into line wibh the lower fourth form by the end of the year. The system works exceedingly well, and bridges over the gap between primary and secondary education very comfortably. .'"Successes ab tho Examinations of last December arid January.—The' InspectorGeneral of Schools in his recent reporb on the secondary ecboo'ls of tho coiony, says :— ' I am convinced thab the junior scholarship examination is a very useful and fitting test of the comparative efficiency of the schools.' Wibh this authority I can confidently reporb to bho Board that bho school stood well in comparison with the leading schools of the colony at the examination of December of lasb year. The University offered 12 scholarships, and though bub one of these was secured by a Grammar School boy, Watts, yet tho 13tb, 15th, 16th and 17bh places were held by Allen, Speight, Field, and Keesing respectively, all four being within comparatively few marks of the ldfch scholar. Seventy-eighb candidates Irom the whole colony entered for this examination ; of these 35 gained distinction, i.e., either a scholarship or a pass ' with eredib,' and of these 35 no fewer bhan 9, or onefourth, were boys and girls of this school; and, further, of these 9, 5 were under bbc age of 18 years, and are, thoretore, able to compete again this December. They are—Allen, Grant, Misses Bowles, McPherson, and Smith. I may mention also thab Granb secured the honour of being first of all the candidates in Latin; Spoighb and Watts of being eecond and third in mathematics, and Miss Sinclair of being second in English. lam glad to find thab two of tbo three boys who oumo so near to winning tho scholarships, and who wero prevented from competing again, aro, as far as thoir leisure will allow, continuing their studies at University College. It has been our custon bo require tho sixth form to enter bhe University from the junior scholarship examination rather than by meana of the comparatively easy matriculation, for which a very much lower standard of excellence is reqnired. This was passed by fifteen pupils from tho upper fourth and tilth forms. The school gained, its usual amount of success in the civil service examinations; while six senior districb scholarships were won by Prideaux, Hunter, Brown. F. Davis, and Misses Wilson and Eyre, and twenty-nine others gained certificates of proficiency—a resulb which reflects the highest credio on the teaching of tho upper fourth forms on both sidee. For bho public examinations of this year we have made 93 entries. ■ . "The Work of The Yoar.— I have no hesitation in saying thab during this year a large amount of oarnesb and faithful work has beon done by bhe boys and girls. I think thab wo have very few really idle ones in the school, by which I mean to say thab we have very few who ore consistently

idle all the year through ; there are many _. .Vho have periods of idleness, followed by Xt, iperiods of repentance, when they; vainly X hope, to make-up bhe ground bhey have H lost, and we have a goodly number who W work well and steadily from the beginning i

to the end of term. If some boys could be persuaded to give half the thought and care to their school lessons thab they bestow on athletics ; if some mobhers could be induced to make their daughters understand thab twelve whole weeks in the year, and one day in each of the other forty, afford sufficient opportunity for all tbe social distractions that are good for a school girl, there is no saying what we mighb nob accomplish here in 6He way of education. I wish to mention a few names of those who stand oub conspicuously among, their schoolmates for earnest arid successful work. Among the boys; In the upper sixth form, Whitelaw has passed through thoso who are a year his seniors, and Wylie has done even more, having beaten those .pf two years' more standing in the school. In the lower sixth, Prideaux arid Bamford have done well. For mathematics and science Allen easily heads the Bchool, as he did last year ; while Stewart, in the lower sixth, gives promise of a greab future in .these subjects. In the upper fourth form, Bartley is firsb in English, Latin, French, and second in mathematics, in which he is beaten by Walker. Both are very promising boys. _In the lower fourth Kent (who gained a Foundation scholarship this year), D. and H. Vickerman, Parkineon and Laugford all deserve praise. In the special form, which contains all the now scholars of the year, Gray, Stephenson, and J. F. Roberts win prizes for languages, and in mathematics C. V. Roberta has beaten all those who hold scholarships, while Stephenson again is seconfi. In tbe third form I wish to mention Prior and H. Gorrie, and in the second Hall and Mooro. On the girls' side Miss Dinneen has gone to bhe head of the sixth form in her first year, a feab which stamps her as a girl of no ordinary ability, and Miss Bowle3 has worked well. In the fifth Misses Eyre and Wilaon stand well ahead of their form, and in mathematics Miss Wilson gives greab promise. In the upper fourth Miss R. Robertson and Miss Pickmere win tho prizos, while Miss Mcintosh deserves special mention for all subjects, and Miss Patterson for English. In the special girls' form Misses Gummer, Poland, and Burnett have done the best among tho new scholars and win the prizos, though bhey are beaten in some subjects by Miss Ward aud Miss Meyers, who were elighbly above tho age fixed for prizos in this form. In the lower fourth Misaos Hollaby, Brown, Hardie, and Howard have done well, and in mathematics Miss A. Sollgren. In bho third Mica Nolan has dono boab, bub being a few days above the prescribed age bho prizo descends to Miss Moore, who well deserves it, and the second bo Miss M. Basloy, tho fourth going bo Miss V. Sellgren. In the second form Miss A. Haslebb, Miss Goodall, and Miss K. Nelson win prizes, and Misses Brown and Cutbbertson certificates.

" Pond Essay Prize.—The prize for an English essay given by the fabher of the late Professor Pond, in memory of his son, is won this yoar by Gately, with an essay on "Insanity of Gonius," written in school without preparation, the subject being choaen from three proposed by Professor Tubba, who reports as follows :—* Tho boys' essays, taken as a whole, were distinctly good, one or bwo excellenb. The beat essays I place in the following order :—W. D. Gately, H. D. Bamford, V. Mendibb, J. Whitelaw. Tho bwo lasj) mentioned aro brackebted for difl'erenb merits. I also bbink thab the essay of A. Mulgan, IV. form, deserves spocial mention.' Mulgan was awarded a special prize. Professor Egorton was good enough'to undertake the examination for Mr Bourne's Tennyson prize, aud reported thab oub of a numbor of good onea four wero of a high order of merib—viz., those of Misses S. K. Bowles (who gained the prize). McPherson, C. Smith and B. Trevithick.

" Modern Boys.—l have paid some attention during the preßOnb yoar to a problem which presents ibself more and more forcibly each year to schoolmasters of the present day!, viz., how to deal adequately with tho so called modern boy, tbab is with bhe boy whofallsioub of the ordinary school curriculum by nob baking up bhe sbudy of Latin —Greek is pracbically not taught in bhe secondary echools of this colony. A common method of solving the difficulty ia to treat the non-Latin boys as irregulars, and either to allow them to sib in bhe same room when the more enlightened parb of the form is recoiving instruction in Latin, and to waste their time on some subject which gives as little trouble as possible to the form maetor, or bo pasß them round from ono room to another whete they may pick up any scraps of information that may be going. I have for aome time past felt a growing sympathy with the moderns. A very large number of our pupils come from the higher standards of the districb schools with tbe professed

intention of spending somo one, some bwo, aorae perhaps three years with us. Those who stay for the longer period should have nodifficulby whateverin passing tho matriculation standard in Latin. Bub when boys and girls come bo stay for one, possibly for two years, I have nob encouraged bhem bo take up bhe sbudy of Latin, knowing bhab bhey can in tbab bime do bub little more than overcome tbe drudgery of learning the elementary grammar of the language. I have rather endeavoured to map oub for theso pupils a course of study which, will be a more immediate preparation for those walks* of life in which they will presently have to bread. For having opportunities of conferring with parents aboub their boys, I can see tbat many are kepb ab school at considerable sacrificeon bhe parb of their parents, who, nob unnaturally, expecb bhab the education of their children shall lead to some immediate and pracbical result. Again, much as I value tbe educating influence of the study of the dead languages, I cannob help feeling thab their influence stands to bhab exercised by the sbudy of our own long-neglected language and literabure, and of bhe various branches of mathematical and physical science in an over-diminishing ratio. Besides it has always seemed to mo a wrong bhab in schools where tho sbudy of Frenches compulsory on all, boys who havo no taste whatever for language, and who will never make scholars, simply because they were by nature never intended to be echolars, should waste the happiest years of their young lives, struggling with an useless impossibility, because the curriculum is so wanting in elasticity bhab subjects are nob presented to them whieli will form bhe basis of an education hardly lesß valuable in itself, and which may load bo a life-long sbudy, a blessing to themselves and perhaps bo bheir fellowmen. I hope that I shall not be accused of underrating the study of Latin. There are phases of education for which classical studies are the best possible basis. Thab wo do nob neglect Latin here is shown by bhe facb bhab the majority of our

boys bake ib up; and bhab bhey study ib successfully is proved by bhe position of Granb and of the others in bhe lasb University scholarship examination. Bub I contend thab in tho caso of many pupils attending bhis school, bheir circumstances do not require thia particular phase of education, bhab it is nob tho best bhab can be devised for bhem, and bhat we have the meanß ab our disposal bo supply bhem wibh what ia more suited to their needs. I have so far arranged the school work so thab tho non-Labin pupils receive greater abtenbion in English and French, in science and mechanical drawing and in purely commercial subjects, such as bookkeeping, shorthand and aribhmebic. I hope nexb year bo make provision for bhe more general teaching of German. Lessons in cookery wero given by Miss Millingbon during parb of bbc second and third berms. The first half of the course was well attended by the girls, and much interest was shown. Next year the classes will all be held in the second term, so thab bhoße who are candidates for public exami-

nations will not be debarred from attending. Attendance'at bhe workshop has been reorganised, so bhab some 50 or 60 boys now geb systematic beaching ab the hands of Mr Trevibhick, and great progress has been made. In May lasb a very pleasant reunion of old boys took place ab the Bchool, under the auspices of the Old Boys' Association. I place the highest value on the work of this Society, are tending to keep up a mutual interest botween us and those who have paseed through bhe school, and 1 commend the Association to the attention of all-boys who are leaving. lam authorised to state tbab the Committee propose to offer each year a valuable prize for an essay on some subject connecbed wibh New Zoaland history. In conclusion, sir, I wish bo thank the members of the Btaff for the cordial supporb tbey have given me. Without ib, a year of sudden expansion and growth, as thia has been, would have been full of anxiety, perhaps of difficulby. Wibh ib the year has passed happily and successfully." DISTRIBUTION OF PRIZES. The Chairman nexb presented the prizos to the scholars named in yesberday'a issue Mr Richard Udy, chairman of bhe Board of Education, nexb addressed tbe meeting, upon tho connection bebween tbe primary and secondary systems of education. He stated thab during the lasb four years bhe districb scholarships held at tho Auckland CollegeandGrammar School wereas follows: —In 1891, 15 senior and 26 junior -, in 1892, 14 senior and 27 junior ; in 1893, 16 senior and 30 junior; and in 1894, 15 senior and 35 junior, making a total income from fees of £1,869. The number of senior district scholarships held by ex-junior districb scholars during bhe yeara 1891 to 1894 was fourteen. Thoso fees were received from scholars who had passed through tho primary schools and were sent bo bhe Grammar School as winners of scholarships. Amongab those who from primary schools had passed through the Grummar School and distinguished themselves in bho Old Counbry he need only mention the names of McLauren, Jackson and La Trobe. (Applause.) Thero wero obhers, bub ab the moment ho could nob remember bheir uumeß. He hoped to sco many of tho boys ab presont at tho Grammar School follow in their footsteps, and thus be a crodib nob only to thomsolves, bub to bhoir parents und the community at large. (Applause.) Professor Brown also spoke upon tho value of secondary education. He had no grievance to nir, and no reform he wished to bring beforo bhem. Ho felt that wibh the oxception of the somowhab technical and special Rubjecbs which it was his duty and pleasure to teach, he had no particular hobby bo talk about. Tho Mayoress (Mrs J. J. Holland) nexb presented tho prizes won at the recent school sports, and Dr. F. King (proeidont of bhe Old Boys' Association) handed bho cup to the winner for the second time—Mr Hosking. Dr. King also mude a few appropriate romarks rogurding tho object of the Old Boys' Association. The Chairman, in closing tho proceedings, referred to bho wonderful success of tho school under the caro oE tho presenb headmaster. Ffe considered ib a matter for congratulation thab thero was such a good feeling between Mr Tibbs and tho staff and ak'o between the teachers and bho scholars. He was .proud to think that bhree of tho masters had been trained in bhe New Zealand .Univorsity,,

Tho playing of bho National Anbhom closed a mosb enjoyable evening. On Wednesday, tho 19th, tho Special Form boys proßented their form maaber (Mr J. Slordan). >vith a handsome silvermounted pipo. On..tho . name day the meraborß of bho Auckland College nnd Grammar School Orchestra presented Mr Trevithick with a unique silver inkstand. The presentation was mado by Miss Lowis ab tho School.