HIGHSCHOOL OPENED

Press, Volume C, Issue 29674, 18 November 1961, Page 16

HIGHSCHOOL OPENED

Minister At Hillmorton There would be little change out of £200,000 when everything was completed, said the Minister of Education (Mr Tennent) when he declared the Hillmorton High School officially open yesterday. This was Mr Tennent’s first visit as Minister of Education to the high schools of Christchurch, said Mr W. J. Cartwright, chairman of the schools interim board of governors, welcoming the guests to the ceremony held in the assembly hall. The Mayor of Christchurch (Mr G. Manning) commended the policy of the government in continuing with the erection of such schools when the country was passing through a trying economic experience. Mr M. A. Connelly. M.P., who arrived just in time to follow the Mayor as the next speaker on the programme, said this was the first official public function attended by the Minister of Education in his electorate. Mr Connelly said he had advocated the establishment of a high school in the area and had made urgent representations to Mr Tennent’s predecessor as minister. It was undesirable that young children should have to travel long distances unnecessarily to attend school. Control Of Schools He was delighted to hear of the progress made by the Post-primary Schools’ Council in Christchurch, said Mr Tennent. It was the soundest idea there could be for the control of high schools in a large city. Reference had been made to his introducing legislation doing away with the Gov-ernor-General’s nominees on high schools boards. He had done that because he thought parents, as having the main responsibility, should have the biggest representation on a board.

A lot of money was being spent on education these days. The vote was more than £47 million, said Mr Tennent. It was about twice what it was 15 years ago. The headmaster Mr O. W. G. Lewis, on behalf of the school, presented Mr Tennent with two books and a bound copy of the school magazine. Mr Tennent asked Mr Lewis to give the pupils a holiday on a selected day between now and the end of the year. Mr M. F. Miles, representing the contractors, John Calder, Limited, presented a set of encyclopaedias to the school. Mr Tennent unveiled a commemorative plaque in the foyer of the hall.