Permission Needed For Country Pupils To Attend Intermediate School

Northern Advocate, 16 March 1948, Page 2

Permission Needed For Country Pupils To Attend Intermediate School

PUPILS in senior classes at primary schools near -Whangarei must now continue at their respective schools until they qualify for admission to the senior departments of the Whangarei High Schools. Formerly, a number of pupils from these schools, on passing out of Std 4, left and attended as day pupils at the intermediate departments of either the boys’ or girls’ high schools in Whangarei.

On complaints from parents of pupils who had been enrolled at the Whangarei High Schools and then later told that they must return to their respective schools being investigated, it was disclosed that this action was taken on instructions from the Education Board, Auckland. It was not, as some parents were inclined to think, the result of action by the Whangarei *High Schools’ authorities. ENROLLED, REJECTED “The position had caused the school authorities sqme concern as girls from the country areas had been enrolled and later had had to be rejected,” said the headmistress of the Whangarei Girls’ High School (Miss C. S. Bell) when the question was referred to her. In the past pupils from outlying districts had been accepted at the intermediate section of the school, but recently a communication had been received from the Auckland Education Board stating that in future the high school could take intermediates only from the schools within the contributing area—namely, Whangarei. Boarders at the hostel were exempt from this ruling. THREE EXCEPTIONS Pupils residing outside the 'town area could attend only on the permission of the senior inspector of schools. On receipt of this information the parents of pupils affected by this directive had been written to asking them to write to the inspector seeking permission for the child or children to attend, said Miss Bell. So far the inspector had given permission in three cases only. The position of one girl who had been allowed to continue at the high school. while pupils from the same district had been sent back to their primary school was explained by Miss Bell. This girl’s mother was undertaking, at considerable inconvenience to herself, part-time teaching at the Girls’ High School. In. view of this her daughter had been allowed to remain at the school. ROOM AT BOYS’ SCHOOL “As far as we at the boys’ school are concerned we would be quite happy to have them, as there is room for them in the intermediate department. HoweVer,. the board has ruled otherwise,” said the principal of the Whangarei Boys’ High School (Mr H. A. Henderson) when the question was referred to him. “If any child from an outside district, not from a contributing school, wishes to attend the intermediate department at the high school the parents must make application to the senior inspector of schools, Auckland.”

'‘This year however, the department has apparently decided to decline all requests. The matter is therefore out of our hands,” said Mr Henderson. BOARD IN WHANGAREI Questioned as to whether, if the parent obtained board in Whangarei, the pupil would be allowed to attend the intermediate department, Mr Henderson said thgt in one or two cases this had been done, and the pupil was then able to attend as a resident of Whangarei. In the hostel at • the school preference had to be given to senior ’pupils and there were absolutely no vacancies. The roll of the senior school, 431, was the highest on record. NO STATEMENT BY BOARD No comment on the 'position concerning the admittance of pupils from outside the contributing area to the intermediate department of the Whangarei high schools could be made by the Auckland Education Board today. The secretary (Mr L. Nixon) said that the position was controlled by the Senior Inspector of Schools, Wellington, who had recently been in Auckland but was now out of the area.

“In the past this has been granted in special cases,” said Mr Henderson. When this permission ‘ had been granted the parents of the children paid the bus fares of the pupils to and from the school.