GRANT APPROVED.

Press, Volume LXIX, Issue 20776, 9 February 1933, Page 8

GRANT APPROVED.

d d ♦ —; — iy NEW INTERMEDIATE >- e SCHOOL. s I, d BUILDING AT SHIRLEY. 9 l * [FKOIS Ova Pazliahzvtaxt RsrosT*x-] , WELLINGTON, February 8. f) The largest grant for educational s buildings for some time has been approved by the Cabinet towards the crec--3 tion of an intermediate school at Shirley. The building will comprise eight r- rooms and a laboratory together with " the necessary shqlter-sheds and out ofJ ficcs. By the erection of this school it j is hoped to relieve the present congesi tion at Richmond, Shirley, and St. Al- , bans, for fifth and sixth standard pupilg > from each of these schools will at- ; tend the new intermediate school The Cabinet's decision is a result of [ representations made by Mr D. G. SulJ livan (Lab., Avon), in favour of ex- ! tensions to the Richmond School. Ten- ' ders for the school will be called by the Canterbury Education Board, and according to the usual custom the plans will be submitted for the Minister's , approval. I } ! DISCUSSION BY SCHOOL COMMITTEES. i CONFERENCE TO BE CALLED. I > The Education Department's proi posal to build a new intermediate high ■ school at Shirley to serye the northeastern area of the City, was discussed j at last evening's meeting of the Can- > terbury School Committees' Associar tion. Members considered that a con- ) ference of interested school committees * and officers should be called to discuss ' the matter and to consider other pro--3 posals, and it was finally agreed to ask > the Minister to delay progress with the 1 scheme for one month. Opening the discussion, Mr C. D. « • 1 Sheppard (St. Albans) moved as fol--5 lows:— t '•That as the Education Departs ment has now under consideration the establishment of a second intermediate school in the Christchurch district, to be located in the northL east area, a meeting of chairmen ot > the City and suburban school com- : inittees and tho headmasters of such schools, including the Normal School, ! and the urban members of the Edu- [ cation Board be called immediately . to discuss the development of the » intermediate school system 'n rela- [ tion to tho interests of the children of their school districts." 1 An Extension of %he Scheme. 1 In support of his motion, Mr Shep- ! pard said that the matter was of great ' importance to tho City as a whole, and not only to the north-eastern section of it. He claimed that the money which would be set aside for the . school could b© spent more usefully, however, than in building this one great establishment, and he suggested that, instead of one, three schools might be formed with it, two more being situated in the south and northwest.i A meeting of chairmen of school committees vvithiii the urban area, which had been convened recently by the executive of the Association, BJiid Mr Sheppard, had discussed plans to this effect. The proposal at present * was that a new intermediate school 1 should be erected on an area of land, > which he understood was at present " vested in the Canterbury College „ Board of Governors, near the Burwood , tram terminus- However, Shirley School stood within two blocks of that site, and it seemed reasonable that j this building could be enlarged and B adapted to suit the purpo se .- . thus c avoiding the necessity for acquirmc a , new arid probably expensive site and building a new brick school. Conversion of Shirley School. . "The meeting considered," said Mr t Sheppard, "that if tho present Shirley School were turned into an intennedi- ' ate school it could take in <*PO or obU , pupils, while the neighbouring school? ! would take the resent younger P"P"8 at Shirley, thus keeping the roll numr " bors evenly balanced." Mr Sheppard 0 believed that the new school should B serve ajl tho north-eastern part of the - City, including Linwood, Burwood, and e Marshland. The money saved could be c used to rebuild schools in and about d Christchurch, and to extend the inter--1 pipdiate school system- throughout the i. town. Mr T. W. West said he considered that if tho intermediate system was to be extended in Christchurch it sljould be r distributed over the whole of tho City. r If tho existing schools could bo used s for the time being for intermediate schools a great deal of money would " bo saved, but ho thought that where a 2 school was converted primer children 11 should have their own school in their own district, and the n-oncy saved by A using existing school buildings for inQ termediato development work might bo 3 used for building open-air schools for 8 primer classes. t Necessity for Caution. Mr T. Nuttall (Linwood Avenue) u thought that they ought to be very 5 * careful about the policy to be laid r " down by the proposed conference. They *' were treading on dangerous ground u when they proposed to close a longostablished and well-attended primary school in a growing area. "I know that n in my own district," he said, "the resie dents would bo vqry careful about (j agreeing to the foundation of a junior n high school until they were quite sure , that proper regard was going to be y paid to the interests of the children up u to Standard IV. I am quite in favour o of the conference, but I think it ought e to move cautiously." The chairman (Mr S. R. Evison) exr plained that any dpcjsion arrived at |U by tho conference would be referred d back to the Association for discussion, [e After further discussion the motion was d put and carried. ;s In order that there might be time for the conference to be called, Mi West moved: "That the Minister be asked to defer completing the arrangcments for oue month to enable commitj tees and parents in the districts affected to consider the proposal." The motion d was carried, the meeting agreeing that h tho districts affected were Last Christchurch, North Linwood, Richmond, Shir : ,y ley, and St. Albans. a ■" :