LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14220, 17 November 1909, Page 5

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

THE CLAIMS OF THE AUCKLAND v GRAMMAR SCHOOL. Sir,—l was pleased to read in your issue of to-dav that a claim, is being made on behalf of tho Grammar School to a portion of the Government House Grounds. As an old boy of the school, I fully endorse all that Mr. Tibbs has said about the disadvantages under which the boys .are labourintr from tho want of playing-fields. That the largest secondary school in the Dominion —as the Auckland Grammar School certainly should have been so long without a suitable recreation ground is due; in my opinion, Dartlv to tho indifference of the Board to the true interests of the school, and partly to tho apathy of parents and old boys. At present the Grammar School boys have to trudge to the Domain to' play football. They have to undress in the open, and leave their clothes on the damp ground, and thus run the risk of contracting severe colds. How different'is this from the state of things that obtains at Wellington College! The governors of _ the latter school have mado ample provision for the complete organisation of school games: two football and at least six cricket matches can be carried on simultaneously within the school grounds. Thus at Wellington College school games are so organised that the great majority of the boys can take part in them. At the Auckland Grammar School, under existing conditions, the school games must necessarily be confined to a very small proportion of the boys*. The disadvantages from a physical point of view are obvious; but there is another side of the question to be considered.

We have often heard it said that the battle of Waterloo was won on the playing-fields of Eton, and all who have given any thought to the question of education realise that tV>o education a boy reoeives from intercourse w.'th his follow pupils and his masters on the school playing-fields is, perhaps, a more important factor in his training for the- battle of life than the knowledge he acquires in the classroom. It seems to me iniquitous that the 412 boys attending the Auckland Grammar School, t»he boys to whom .we must look for our future leaders in all spheres of life, should be denied the playingcrround which is so essential to the full development of their characters, and of their phvsical powers. '.'•',• It will be urged that the playing-fields are equally essential to the moral development of the University student. If those attending the University College were students in the true sense of the term, the life of the college would, no doubt, be greatly benefited by the existence of extensive playingfields. But at present the University College is little more than a cramming establishment for professional examinations. There are not more than 30 students who give all their time to University work; all the others are employed during the day, and attend lectures at night only. Some of the so-called students attend only one hour a week, so as to qualify for the University cricket and football clubs. Is it reasonable that a valuable site, worth £50,000 at least, should be set aside as a sports ground for about 30 bona-fide students, while the 412 bovs at the Grammar School are without the playing-field that is so essential to their physical and moral welfare? Moreover, the University Council originally asked only for the paddock known as the Metropolitan Ground. The Government, in an unaccountable fit of generosity, proposes to givot.hem about four times as much as they asked for. If the College Council has any real regard for the welfare of the boys- from whom most of its students are .drawn, they should welcome the proposal that at least four, acres should be set aside for the Auckland Grammar School. la conclusion, I would urge the parents of bovs attending the Grammar School to do all in their power to secure part of this site for their children. Th© Auckland University College is so strongly represented on the' Grammar School Board that there is a grave danger that the true interests of our boys will be overlooked. A Grammar School Old Bor.' Auckland, November 16.