Post-Primary Enrolments

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29245, 1 July 1960, Page 8

Post-Primary Enrolments

' Sir;—I support "Wondering Parent,” of Oxford, in his plea for an investigation of the acceptance of third-form pupils from district high school areas into large town schools and into the overcrowded high schools in North Canterbury. Surely these schools should be helping the country district high schools to gain the full secondary school status and the larger grants they themselves have sb long enjoyed. —Yours, etc., E.H. Hawarden, June 28, 1960.

Sir,—Two years ago the decision to make Burnside a girls’.school was reversed, largely on the basis of statistics gathered by Mr R. H. Thompson. It now appears that the .number of parents who prefer a sitjgle-sex school for their children is greater- than was thought in 1958. Mrs Broomfield has stated that this year co-edu-cational schools took enough boys to fill several. forms at a boys’ school (about 100, I suppose) and nearly as many girls, who would not be there if their parents had had Any choice. The departmental experts, as is well known, strongly favour eo-educational schools. But education is a matter in which parents have their rights, and like war, it is much too important a business to be left to the experts. Could not a group of interested parents form an association to press for more single-sex schools? And if the location of such schools is a problem, what about converting some co-educa-tional schools, as has been done els where?—Yours, etc., June 29. 1960. G.H.D.