PRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSES

Press, Volume C, Issue 29540, 15 June 1961, Page 17

PRIMARY SCHOOL CLASSES

Association Given Figures The Canterbury School Committees' Association is to express its appreciation to the Canterbury Education Board for providing figures of the nresent staff situation in Canterbury primary' r'hools. The association made this decision at its annual meeting last evening, and also decided to continue to Dress for smaller classes. In a letter to the association. the secretarv-mf'.nager of the board (Mr W. P. Spencer) said that when the last survey was made in February, there were 1209 classes in the primary schools from grade' four tn seven. Of these. 323. or 26 7 per cent., bad no more than 31 ounils. 561. or 46.4 ne.r cent., h'd between 31 and 40. and 321, or 26.6 per eent., had between 41 and 50. « Only four had 51 puoils and these were at schools where addi•tional classrooms were be- ; ng built and classes would soon be reduced. “This is exactly the sort .of information ive want.” said Mrs M A. Rae. ‘lt is Pood to think we can get these deta'ls, and the board is to be thank'd for taking us into its confident.” He could not agree that the board was taking the association into its confidence, said Mr F. Betts. “These figures have already been made public in reply to corresponden'e in the newspapers. It has also been pointed out that those figures mean 73.3 per cent, of the classes have above 31 pupils, which is not a very good situation.” As to the four classes with more than 50 pupils, the Sumner school had classes of 50. 49. and 46. and that was a »'hool at. which additional classrooms were not being built, said Mr Betts.