WAIPUKURAU HIGH SCHOOL.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XIII, Issue 78, 16 March 1923, Page 2

WAIPUKURAU HIGH SCHOOL.

EDUCATION BOARD AND RESIDENTS. Matters relating to the District High School at WaiDukurau were lurther discussed by Mf. G. F. Roach, chairman of the Hawke’s Bay Education Board, in a report presented to the Board yesterday. “At the last meeting,” said the chairman. “1 drew your attention to the position regarding the attendance of the secondary departments of the Waipukurau and Waipawa District High Schoofs. In the course of my remarks 1 said that the representations for the establishment of a secondary department and the erection of a new building at Waipukurau were supported by the statement that probably 81 pupils would be available, and Jhai liO could be expected as the absolute minimum.

“The committee, in a letter published in the press, takes exception to this and says that no assurance was given that the numbers would exceed 40 to 50. In reply I have to repeat my former statement, as you will remember that when representatives from Waipukurau waited on the Board in this matter, the assurance I referred to was then given. “The letter also refers to the number of children which the building was built to accommodate. I am glad to note that the - committee has in its letter modified the statement made at a recent meeting that the school could only hold 54 children. The school was built to hold, under ordinary circumstances. from 65 to 70 secondary children. of which roll numlier an average attedance of 60 would be maintained, thus requiring two teachers (present number).

“There is no reason why the present school should not accommodate 90 children under three teachers. This could easily be done by the use of the laboratory as a classroom, as is the cage at present, a primary class being accommodated in the laboratory pending the erection of the new primary school. “In. reference to the information which J supplied to you. I may say that I did not mention that although the average attendance of the secondary department was 46 for the March quarter last year, the average fell to as low as 32 at the end of the year, the quarterly averages being 46, 41, 33 and 32. These figures show that the 40 to 50 children referred to in the committee’s letter have not been maintained. “No matter what was said at the time or what promises were given as to the number of children, the Board must now realise the position, which, as I stated last month, is that we have a growing secondary department at Waipawa with 85 pupils, and a secondary department at Waipukurau with only 49 pupils and having, room to spare. Naturally the Waipawa residents have not failed to use these figures to point out that the Board made a mistake in building the High School at Waipukurau, claiming that Waipawa is mor© central for the surrounding schools. The figures do, of course, give them some grounds for their contention, but ry> good purpose would be served by discussing this aspect at this stage. I may add, in regard to the Waipawa secondary department. that satisfactory arrangements have been made to accommodate the increased number of pupils without detriment to the organisation of the school.”