SCHOOLS BREAKING UP.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIX, Issue 303, 23 December 1898, Page 3

SCHOOLS BREAKING UP.

AUCKLAND COLLEGE AND GRAMMAR SCHOOL.

AXXUAL DISTRIBUTIOX OF PRIZES.

The breaking-up ceremony in conn nection with the Auckland College and t Grammar School took place last evene ing in St. Benedict's Hall. There was Q a. very large attendance of parents and ~ friends. In the absence of Sir Maurice s O'Borke the chair was taken by the c Rev. Canon Kelson. Acting-Chairman c of the Board of Gcwernors, while .. amongst those on the platform were 3 the Headmaster (Mr J. W. Tibbs), and s members of the teaching staff. Mr D Richard Hobbs, Chairman of the Board . of Education and a member of the f University College Council, members of the Board of Governors. Board of Education, University College Council, Old Boys' Association, Old Girls' As- - sociation, University professorial staff and others. ' 1' The Chairman, in his introductory 1 remarks, made special reference to the - success of Mr K. C. Maclaurin, who i has recently gained a Fellowship at t St. John's College, Cambridge. The - whole of Mr Maclaurin's secondary ' education was received at the Granii mar School, and from there he had i continued his studies at the Auckland i University College. A success of this t kind was not be underestimated; a i .Mathematical Fellowship at such a 1 College as St. John's was a very high i distinction, and to gain as well a high J Wranglership and a Smith's Prize was :an honour such as had never before : been gained from any secondary _ school in Xew Zealand. (Applause.) ; The boys of the School would be glad [ to' bear that the Board were moving :in the matter of a new playground. ; Those members in favour of the ■ scheme were determined that within ■ a reasonable time the boys, at least, would have a better playground than .at present. On behalf of the Boyrd Canon Kelson expressed pleasure at ■ the way in which the late Mayor (Mr P. Dignan) had attended to his duties as a member of the Board; and he might say he hoped the present Mayor (.Mr Goldie) would follow the good example set in this respect by his predecessors. The Headmaster in his report said he thought parents should be reminded from time to time that the places awarded in the prize-list depend partly on marks given for diligence during j the term, and partly on the results ;of the examinations held at the end 'of each of the three terms, except in the case of the Sixth and Fifth Forms. He regretted that in some cases par- : ents weakly yielded to the pleading of the children whose work had not been steady arid unbroken during the term to absent themselves from' examination. The School List is looked upon, ' here and elsewhere, as a publication ;of some scholastic weight and authority, and from time to time the HeadI master of this School is'able to give a ' certificate, on the results published by the School, which excuses further ex- I animation. As a warning he mentionied that, during this year, he was unable to reply favourably to such applications from two old boys, one at- J classes at the -University of I Edinburgh, the other a candidate for an actuarial examination in Mcl- ! bourne; in the first case from the inferiority of his work, in the latter '■- owing to his having absented himself ! from examination. ' With the general progress of . the ; School he had good reason to be well satisfied . There were in the School j a large number of boys and girls i whose industry is most praiseworthy, i who, in their respective forms, set the j 1 tone and make the pace for the others. 1 There was a general rise in the standi arcl of work, which is to be especially j | noticed in some forms, such as the j ! Sixth, Fifth, and Special Forms on both sides, and the .'Lower Fourth ■i boys. The Upper Fourth Forms on j I both sides are good classes of which j ' any school might be proud. Referring i ;to unwilling pupils he said nothing . was more fatal to progress at school than a mother's excuse, and he begged ; mothers to limit evening distractions ;to the very extensive time allowed ; for such things in vacation and offnights during the year; and so spare their sons and daughters anxiety about detention and weekly interviews with the Headmaster at school. An- ; other form of mistaken indulgence on I the part of parents was the not in- ! frequent request that Jheir children ; may omit those branches of study I which demand the effort of using the reasoning faculties. He was glad to ;be able to report that the number of boys and girls who are excused Latin i shows a tendency to decrease: but he : was alarmed to find that Euclid is one of the subjects of which the young Aucklander entertains a dread. For the public examinations held since his last report the School made no fewer than a hundred entries. For the Junior Civil Service there were twenty- ; six entries, of whom twenty passed; and of these, three, G. 11. Comes, 11. Yiekerman, and C. J. Lovatt, have obtained cadetships in the Civil Service. ! For the Senior Civil Service there were five candidates, of whom four passed. one of them, J. J. Wilson, with distinction. Thirty-five went up for Senior District Scholarships, and gain- ; ed nine certificates of proficiency and seven out of the eight scholarships. For University Scholarships eleven candidates- entered, 3 gainedscholarships, ' and five passed with credit; two passed well enough to be offered Matriculation; and one failed to reach the minimum in Mathematics. Of the eight boys sent up for Matriculation three failed (one through no fault of I his own); and all the eleven girls ; i passed, two being from the Sixth Form, seven from the Fifth, and two from the Upper Fourth. He thought j < that the standard of the Matriculation i examination should be raised and that ' it should serve as the one examination i for entrance into the Civil Service, and should cover both Medical Prelimin- j ary and Solicitors' General Knowledge, < a saving to parents of many guineas, and to pupils of the worry of inees- 1 shut examination. It is a matter of . scholastic and commercial interest that it should be known that the School offers the opportunity of the . study of the German language. The . classes at present were not so large as. to warrant Hs being introduced as a • regular school subject; but of the pro- . gress of the pupils under Mr Hight : he could speak in the highest praise, i The progress in the drawing- classes : on the Girls' side, under.Mr Watkins,i' has been unusually satisfactory. A | much larger number of girls than in 1 any former -year, have taken up the I ! more advanced stages of the work, j many, of them with most. creditable | . result. He could not speak too well j of the Sixth Girls; they had and they j .

i deserved the respect of the rest of t-li j School, for they had worked hard an I cheerfully, and. in all the walks c i school life they had set a bright e> * | ample to the o'therg. The Sixth Boy I was the largest Sixth and the best h J had known here; and Mteir influenc * for good among the boys had bee I all that could be desired. They ha taken a leading part in the Schoc athletics, and to their unbeaten foot ball fifteen the Upper Sixth eontribut ed seven members, of »vhom six hay just sat for tbe examination for Uni versify Scholarships, not without pros ; peet of success, in conclusion M I Tibbs said: 'Our annual gathering re ! calls to mind many who have stood ii the same place as the prize-winners o to-night. .Many of them hold leadim positions in our own community am elsewhere; some of them are still add ing to the long- list of honours o which the School may justly be proud j First among these 1 have to mentioi ' R. C. Maclaurin, who has crowned hi; Mathematical career by winning r Fellowship at St. John's College. Cam bridge, and seems to have started on a fresh one by securing a valuable Studentship in Law at the same Col lege. I believe that his is the firs' Fellowship won by a native of this colony at Oxford or Cambridge. A: the University of Edinburgh \Y. J Barclay continues to keep in the ten front rank in the School of Medicine having been placed in ihe First (.'las; in his four examinations, and being head of the list in one of them; C. C Choyee. too, gained two First-classes and D. X. W, Murray one. B. E. Myers has finished his course in Medicine at Edinburgh. B. J. Dudley has taker the B.A. degree at Cambridge with hononrs in Natural Science; and A. T Field has made a good start at the same University. At the last examinations of the University of Xew Zealand the Senior Scholarships in Mathematics and Chemistry were won by P. H Watts and R. \V. Allen, two old boys; and four of the Bachelors of Arts. R. W. Allen, R. C. Walker. P. H. Watts, and Miss C. S. Smith, belong to us. It is satisfactory to see that most ot our boys and girls who find their way to University College appear in ' the First Class-of the yearly list of that Institution, and carry off a good share of the prizes. Their successes will, 1 hope, stimulate an ever - increasing number of our boys and girls to embrace the opportunities of proceeding to higher education at the College; for, under the system of lectures, in which the convenience of students of all sorts and conditions is studied, the degree of B.A. is brought within easy reach.' Mr Hobbs contrasted the educational advantages which children enjoyed in the colony to-day with the scarcity o.f schools in his young" days 'in the wilds' of Xew Zealand. The scholars of the Grammar School were highly favoured, he said. They had the best staff of teachers, he believed, in the colony, and it was for them to take advantage of the opportunities they possessed. He hoped that they would take to heart the advice given them that evening by their Headmaster. He was pleased to see that all the secondary schools in the city were doing so well. As a Xew Zealander he always felt a strong desire to see this young- nation progress, and he believed Xew Zealand would yet be mistress of these seas. (Applause.) Therefore they must learn to be equal to the position; that could not be done without hard work. Speaking of the year's work in the school Mr Hobbs said the general results had been good —very good, lie trusted they would continue their efforts, so that year by year the results mighr.be still better. In conclusion he wished the scholars all a .Merry Christmas and a Happy new Year. (Applause.) The school prizes were then presented by Mr Hobbs. the recipients being warmly applauded. The prize-list was published in the 'Star' last evening. Mr F. \-l. Bnnnie, L.L.8., a member of the Auckland University College Council, expressed his pleasure at the excellent work and prospects of the school. It was always -i matter of great, pleasure to those connected with the University to feel that from this secondary school in particular they were continually receiving recruits who would do credit to ihe College and to their Alma Mater—the Grammar School. He endorsed the Headmaster's remarks with regard to raising the standard of the Matriculation Examination. He had always held that this examination should be of a higher standard than it was at present, and lie hoped that this would be done. He, too. wished them all a Merry Christmas, (Applause.) The prizes won at the athletic sports were then presented by Mrs Nelson, after which Mr E. E. Vaile, President of the Old Boys' Association, presented the prizes given by that body. Tn a short speech Mr Vaile drew attention to the benefits conferred by the As- j sociation. and'urged old boys to join.: In his opinion the Association had j not received that support from boys j leaving school which they had a right to expect. ' I Miss Ettie Myers, secretary of the j Old Girls' Association, in the absence ; of tbe President Miss Shrews- j bury, then presented the essay ! prize and gymnastic prizes awarded j by that body to the Girls' ; side of the school, and also the special gymnastic prize given by Professor i Carrollo. I Votes of thanks to Mr Hobbs and j Mrs Kelson for presenting the prizes and to the others who nacl assisted at the ceremony brought the proceedings to a close. During the evening selee-, tions were played by the school or- j chestra, conducted by Mr Trevithick.