SCHOOL PUPILS NEXT YEAR

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26491, 4 August 1951, Page 6

SCHOOL PUPILS NEXT YEAR

TECHNICAL COLLEGE SEEKS SURVEY HELP IN COMPILING TIME-TABLE The Board of Managers of the Christchurch Technical College decided last evening to seek through the Post-Pri-mary Schools’ Board of Governors information about the number of new pupils who will be attending the school next year and the courses they will be taking. The principal (Mr D. W. Lyall), who requested this action, said it would be a great help in working out the timetable for the new year before the actual beginning of the year. Last year, he said, it had taken a team of six something like four weeks to prepare.

Mr Lyall said that the school also did not know how many teachers it was entitled to until enrolments had been received "I don’t doubt that other post-primary schools would also find such a survey p great help,” he said.

the chairman (Mr M. E. Lyons) said the Education Department had already said it had this matter in hand ana would be able to supply statistics as to what .pupils might be expected in the coming year, but they would not be able to say how many boys and girls would be coming to the college. Forecast Might Not Be Accurate During a long discussion It was emphasised that such a forecast could not be strictly accurate, as parentsand children changed their minds about what they were going to do, and other parents might not wish to supply information for fear that they were committing themselves. Mr Lyall said that, nevertheless, he was hopeful of getting something of the nature started. “I see that the Post-Primary Schools' Board of .Governors has said that this school 7is still below its optimum roll number,” said Mr F. H. Dephoff. "Is the Post-Primary Schools' Board putting out this erroneously?” The chairman said that the information had not been put before the board by the secretary but by the chairman (Mr W. J. Cartwright). Mr Dephoff said that Mr Cartwright should have made sure that he was correct. The principal of ths Papanui Technical College (Mr J. B. Mcßride) had corrected the reference to his school.

“I would say now we are working above optimum,” said Mr Lyall. “I should say he was referring to maximum. We have two buildings at least which we should not be using as they are something like 80 years old. We cannot be working at optimum figures while these are being used.” Dr. H. R. Hulme said that "optimum" was a difficult word. It meant the "best possible." which was open to infinite variation.

Mr Lyons: He really meant capacity. That would have fitted best into what he had to say.