TECHNICAL COLLEGE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 31, 7 February 1927, Page 11

TECHNICAL COLLEGE.

| SCIENCE COURSE FOR GIRLS.| ( INNOVATION THIS YEAR. HEAVY ENROLMENTS MADE. Attendances at the Seddon Memorial ! c Technical College for the school year j . j which begins to-morrow are expected to < . reach a record. Mr. J. Park, principal, j ' reports that about 400 girls and over j '< [ .300 boys have already enrolled, making : i ' a total of 920. The roll at the be- | i j ginning of last year was 793 and at the < | end of the year. tJ2O. i A feature of the enrolments this year is the marked increase in the number of ' 1 pupils who wish to take the new course j that has been arranged in domestic | science. This course is one that is in- j i tended to train girls for .the practical j management of the home. and. in addi-I - tion, particular stress is laid upon the j , j arts, as applied to the home, so that a , girl who may be looking for a position , ill a city department will be equipped for her work by an education in those subjects which are the foundation of women s industries. Cookery anil the house crafts will al<o be taught and , expert training will be given in the needlecrafts. Public Appreciation. ''The public have clearly appreciated the emphasis that we are putting upon , domestic science." said Mr. Park to-day. Recently the Board of Managers of r the college appointed a highly qualified 1 teacher of art as applied to "the home. Miss Pilling, at present on the staff of the Birkenhead Girls' School. England, 'who holds a diploma of the Eoyaf College of Arts. Miss Pilling will arrive shortly after Easter to take up her position. Instruction in the arts, as applied to women's industries, is really a new educational development in New Zealand and marks a great advance in Auckland. For some years past the ! technical schools iii Victoria have made a ' strong feature of developing the artistic j gifts of those girls who intend to enter the industries of the city and have 1 proven the value of such instruction. * Accommodation for the domestic science * classes will be provided in four new 1 rooms that have just been built on the L top of the Technical College in Wei- x lesley Street. " a Trades Closed To Boys. j Another feature of the 1927 vear in 1 technical education in Auckland" at the - outset is the large number of boys who ! have enrolled for courses of instruction < that will fit /them for business life, a t change that is considered to be the resuit of the fact that apprenticeships 1 are not available. Mr. Park gave renewed emphasis ro the statement, made 1 jon a number of previous occasions, that j the. apprenticeship regulations were \ having a decided effect in dissuading t bo\s from seeking to enter the trades i • and crafts of the citv. j Referring to the matter of accommo- i dation, Mr. Park said that the lar<*e i enrolments had made it necessarv to I arrange lor holding three or four classes t in the old grammar school buildin°- in t Symonds Street. The building "was 1 placed at the disposal of the college last ; year by the Grammar Sctaols Board -It is desired, as soon as 3 the college to accommodate the overflow t and au application was made to the Government last year for a grant to- ' warda the work. Tenders were called and considered by the Public Works i Department betore the school closed for e he holidays The Board of Managers 1 has a sum of £SOOO in hand, and re- i quires another £4.000 to cover the cost < or the proposed enlargements. Cabinet 1 has refused a grant of the necessary t money. An assembly hail is also rj- 1 garded as a much-needed addition but i jno grants can yet be obtained. ' j